So I was looking at the BFA show website from last year and seeing all the projects from the publication design class where they redesigned a book called “The Overspent American.” Apparently looking at it visualized like 10 different ways was enough to pique my interest in it, so I picked it up from the library. Seems interesting so far.
The past few years I’ve realized I have a pretty strong interest in non-fiction topics about how and why people behave certain ways, which is a pretty broad topic I suppose. But it also sort of eliminates fiction and history, although I suppose those two sometimes overlap. I think if I wasn’t into the art&design side of things I’d probably be in the sociology side of things. I’m interested in learning a lot more about it though, I’m just not sure where to start. Recomended reading lists would be appreciated.
Other things I’ve been wondering about:
What makes a printed book seem so much more valid than reading things online? I mean, there’s obviously the whole credibility issue with the internet, but it’s still reading. I guess I mean as a freetime hobby, why is online-based reading so much less respected? I suppose it’s really more similar to reading a magazine. The chunks are smaller and usually contain more pictures. But is reading a romance novel better than reading about design online? What about newspapers vs. feeds? I guess I feel like there’s still sort of a stigma on things that come from The Internet.
Why is there such a big gap between knowing things and doing things? And how can I make that gap smaller? I feel like I “know” a lot of things, but I feel like “knowing” is never enough. For instance, I know that if I eat right and exercise I’d feel better and be healthier. I know those things are both good, and should try to participate in both those activities. But the half of my brain that knows these things just doesn’t seem to do a very good job of convincing the “lets do it” half of my brain to get involved. Or another example, I know I should be less wasteful in my spending, but I do it anyways. Why is there this lazy half that constantly trumps the other? Maybe it’s more of a physics thing where it’s just hard to start things up that aren’t going, and hard to stop things that already are… So I just need some sort of starter or break pads.
Would I really want to design for a medium I’m not that interested in? This one is sort of silly cause I mean, as a designer, I know I will have to work with a variety of areas and be versitile. But I was thinking, does it really make any sense to want to do motion design stuff if it meant I’d be working in broadcast tv or film, when I rarely care to actually watch tv or movies? I guess I’m drawn to the sexiness of things moving around on the screen, but I wonder how well I would fit in that area, being so not that obsessed with the medium.
My animation seminar, while really interesting, has made me re-realize that its probably not what I ultimately want to do, despite my frequent “aw, I wish I was doing that.” I am still drawn to the whole things moving around on the screen, but I think I am slightly turned off by the intensely technical and tedious pipeline oriented process of animation.
What should I do? I guess my doubting is stemming from the fact that I will actually be graduating relatively soon and feel like I should have a better idea of what to do after that. I thought I sort of had a direction… but not so much any more. Wow. That was long and rambly.
(also note to self: the line lengths of these entries are too long… I should fix that.)