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then there is the designer whose clients are fiercely loyal, because he puts their client's objectives ahead of all else, sometimes to the extent that his vocabulary swings perilously close to "tried and true."

here is a designer who is both, and is wracked with pangs of conscience trying to decide which side (creativity, business) to favour over the other - for this client, for this project!

over there is the designer for whom both, all at once, is the only way it can be.

here is a designer who makes a decent living and earns the respect of her clients.

then there is you.

what type of designer are you?

"A designer is a creative thinker..that is what i am...whatever constraints a client has..there is always a creative idea to be triggered by the brief..always!"

"im a student in design for media

me like to draw and eat : - D

"lets go be different...like everyone else""

"I have to really see myself in the place of the client, and likewise, I have to make him/her understand my mission for his design agenda. I could only think "hey, it couldn't be worse if we were both thinking like designers, right?" So my role is to communicate my relevance as a designer to the one who requests me to create for her/him."

"I am self-critical: After 12 years in the interactive design business I still consider myself a student in a constant state of re-invention. Not through lack of experience, but simply because any designer who claims to know everything about good design has simply stopped looking.

Oh, and in a true student-like tradition, here's a Neville Brody quote: "Digital design is like painting, except the paint never dries""

"I am the type of designer who's creativity is almost always shackled and restrained by the clients budget or lack there of. And when finally given a chance to run free, ends up tripping and falling because my creative muscles have all but shrivelled up and died through lack of use."

"I am a designer who looks at all kinds of design magazines and says to himself : 'I can't believe how much design looks the same, for example the grey and orange combo thing...unbelievable! It really does perplex me. Mmmmmm?'"

"Are you a designer? What do you design? Creative communication that will create a response in those it is intended for

or something that will create a response within yourself???

I'm a salesman of creative communication."

"I'm a designer that is not ashamed to leave his real email address on this subject for the fear of ridicule. I'm proud of where I am and excited about where I'm going. I love the freedom in my work, the ability to put a client's idea into pictures and the most gratifying of all is watching the excitement in their faces when I nail that idea!"

"I'm a perfectionist - 'nuff said!

On 'cleverness':
yes we do bring cleverness to the project, but the lesson bobby is giving is about being 'over-clever'... over-clever is what happens when you try to be too clever for your own good, and as a result adding something that detracts from the solution.

Intelligence allows you to know your limits and not get carried away with ideas that start out good and then go over-the-top, beyond clever - too clever!

In short, clever ideas might be impressive, but they have to be inteligent ideas to be suitable for a good solution."

"I'M A DESIGNER WHO BELIEVES IN UPPER CASE! Just kidding. :)

Bobby says: "never let 'cleverness' overpower 'communicating' what the objective is."

Isn't 'cleverness' one of the things that we as designers bring to a project? If something is truly clever then I would suggest it aids in the communication rather than hinders it.

I'm a designer that tries to do his best every day. If I can keep my creativity and client satisfied while delivering a suitable solution to a brief then I am happy."

"Hmmm Im the kind off designer that gets up in the morning, washes his face, has some brekky, walks out the door, gets to work, enjoys been able to create, comes home, pat the house cat, get ready for bed."

"A pragmatic approach to client-based projects is essential. Being creative within the specified brief is fine, but never let 'cleverness' overpower 'communicating' what the objective is.

Remember, design is usually objective.
Art doesn't always have to be."

"I can say that I am the type of designer who searches to be different, and is devoting my existence to being brilliant at design perhaps to compensate for a lack of success in other areas of my life."

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