Small World

Small World, Big Design

By Christian Hurst, M.F.A.

Alice Twemlow, in her book What is Graphic Design For, addresses the hot topic of globalization and how it affects Graphic Design. With the rapid development of communication technologies graphic designers are no longer confined to clients in their immediate geographical area. In fact, if your experience is anything like mine, most, if not all, or your projects most likely have some sort of intentional outreach to a non-local client base. Beyond the outreach of the end product, many of our clients may never even see us face to face. Designers in India may be doing outsourcing work for the UK. Or a local designer in Virginia may be working on a project for a firm in Mexico. Twemlow points out that it is not so much the client base that is shifting, but the entire definition of what is local. As the world adopts more and more of a sense of global community we need to rethink our definition of what is local. Perhaps those people in India, or the United Kingdom are not too far away after all. In fact, entire projects are transferred across thousands of miles in only a few minutes.

In all of this it is important to take advantage of the global market. However, it is important not to run in with guns blazing without first doing your homework. Graphic Design is and will always be primarily about communication. When dealing with unfamiliar cultures it is important to discover some facts concerning those messages that people may derive from your work. There are many resources available to learn about the basics of communication with other cultures. If it is available to you, take a class in International Communication. If you prefer free options, (who doesn’t) check out the many resources available online. You can research specific information relating to the design you are working on. However, perhaps more importantly, you can also stay abreast of international news and significant cultural events.

One resource page, hosted by the University of Georgia, is The James M. Cox Jr. Centre for International Mass Communication Training and Research. This site (address: http://www.grady.uga.edu/coxcenter) is an excellent source for international information relating to mass communication. The articles help to point out international differences and distinctions relating to different topics and news events. As you familiarize yourself with different international subjects, it will become easier to understand international differences in graphic design.

We live in a global community. Like it or not, globalization is part of how we deal with design. Learning to work with people long-distance will be one of the greatest skills we can master for our work’s sake. Applying true international character to our work is another important step to creating an even larger client base. In addition, when we broaden our horizons, we find new opportunities there that we never noticed before. This is how I find myself designing graphics for a website that is being built by a team of programmers in India and a coder who lives on the other side of the United States from me. Big design can indeed connect a small world.

About the Author

Christian Hurst has an M.F.A. in Graphic Design. He is currently senior designer at Kristag Design and teaches Graphic Design at McWeadon Education.