Designers Don't Read

Austin Howe

• Publisher: Allworth
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781581156652
• eBook ISBN:
  9781581157314
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Design History & Criticism

Austin Howe is a creative director, writer, advocate, and cheerleader for design-but not a designer. He believes "in the wonder and exuberance of someone who gets paid-by clients to do what he loves." Howe places immense value on curiosity and passion to help designers develop a point of view, a strong voice. He explores the creative process and conceptualization, and delves into what to do when inspiration is lacking. If there's a villain in these elegant, incisive, amusing, and inspiring essays, it's ad agencies and marketing directors, but even villains serve a purpose and illustrate the strength of graphic design "as a system, as a way of thinking, as almost a life style." Howe believes that advertising and design must merge, but merge with design in the leadership role. He says that designers should create for clients and not in the hope of winning awards. He believes designers should swear "a 10-year commitment to make everything we do for every client a gift." If this sounds like the designer is the client's factotum, not so. Howe also argues in favor of offering clients a single solution and being willing to defend a great design. Organized not only by topic, but also by how long it will take the average reader to complete each chapter, Designers Don't Read is intended to function like a "daily devotional" for designers and busy professionals involved in branded communications at all levels. Begun as a series of weekly essays sent every Monday morning to top graphic designers, Designers Don't Read quickly developed a passionate and widespread following. With the approximate time each chapter might take to read, Designers Don't Read 's delight and provocation can be fit into the niches in the life of a time-challenged designer. Or it may be hard to resist reading the entire book in one sitting!

Table of contents

• Cover
• Frontmatter
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• If Designers Don’t Read, Why Did I Spend a Year Writing This Book?
• Every Design Firm Sounds Exactly the Same
• Finding Your Voice
• Voice versus Style
• Design Is Drumming
• Addendum To “Design Is Drumming”
• The Power of the Poster
• Planners, Account People, and Project Managers
• Planning and Design
• More of You and Less of Them Is Best for Them
• Designers versus Advertising Art Directors
• Art Directors Don’t Anymore
• The Death of Advertising: Unenlightened Self-Interest
• Design Requires Full Immersion, Not Sprinkling or Pouring
• Maybe You’d Do Better Work if You Went In-House
• How Many Ideas Should You Present?
• The Power of Curiosity and Camaraderie to Get You Out of a Creative Rut
• Creative Destruction and the Future Advantages of Mediocrity
• Career Launchers
• Be Inconsistent for a Change
• OCD and Modernism
• Writers Should Draw and Designers Should Write
• Sometimes the Most Inspiring Thing You Can Say Is Nothing
• Overcommitment
• Nocturnal Genius
• Graphic Designers Still Haven’t Really Embraced the Web
• A New Secret Weapon for Producing Great Work: Respect
• How the Saarinen Family Saved Me from Becoming the Sausage King
• A Writer’s View of Semiotics and Why You Might Care
• My Lunch with Michelle Pfeiffer and Whatshisname
• For Every Caveman, There’s a Talking Gecko
• Even When We’re Lying We’re Telling the Truth
• What Is Modern?
• What Making Radio Commercials Taught Me about Design
• The Importance of Presentation Skills
• Concept Development: Some Different Approaches That Work
• Seven Designer Shades of Gray
• Which Drugs Work Best for Different Kinds of Projects?
• What Would Happen if I Did a Piece on Curiosity?
• Writing as Art
• My Role in All of This
• The End
• Index
• Appendix
• Books
• Footnote