I’m partway through Year 1, and partway through Unit 2. I began Unit 2 by looking into the idea of a project centered around heraldry – it’s value today, if it has any, and how it can be used to represent family in the modern age.

I read a lot into it, and felt there was much value to be had in trying to relate a class-based family / property system to a modern family with little or no interest in heritage and family. However, after tutor feedback, I decided to re-evaluate the project I was going to spend over a year on.

As a communications and marketing professional recently turned graphic designer, one of my biggest problems in finding my way in my new career is knowing what ‘good’ design is. How do I know if any good? What is ‘good design’ anyway? Not having studied a 3 year degree, I feel a majorly behind other designers. I feel I have no solid ground to stand on, and I’m just feeling and fumbling my way through. I can really relate to Matteo Bologna’s take on designers he admires:

“Yes, Louise Fili. I hate her. I love her. You know how it is. I am very envious of her. Sharon Werner, too. She hurts me she is so good. I hate her. [...] Practically all U.S. book designers are fantastic. I hate them. Love them.” (Marks, T. and Porter, M. Good Design, 2009)

I began to feel that doing any project next year would be doing a project for the sake of it. I began to feel slightly resentful that I was spending so much time on my MA that it was preventing me spending time researching and learning about ‘good’ design and how to be a better designer. After trying for 48 solid hours to desperately come up with an idea (which involved me reading books and online articles and essentially shouting at my brain “HAVE AN IDEA!”) , as I was drifting off to sleep I had a lightbulb moment and decided to merge my resentments and my career choice to focus on what makes design ‘good’.

The next morning I pitched the idea to Paul, focusing on experiments for Unit 2.1 on ideas of typography, layout, grids, and so on, with a focus on print design. “It sounds like you’re talking about space, and how objects are positioned on the page,” he told me. I began to look at books on space in print design and, not entirely wanting to let go of my original idea, what makes good design good.

Having done some reading, another idea has surfaced – the use of narrative in design. ‘Design is storytelling’, it’s been said. How does design tell a story? How can we retell the stories? Does the static nature of print design still have a narrative? In what order can you tell its story? These are just random thoughts at the moment – let’s see if it has legs.