Response 7

For this week’s readings, the first article titled ‘Who Companies Question the Value of Design’ by Alan Cooper was and interesting read. This reading talked about how companies perceive designers. He goes into about how designers should start talking to companies on their level. Basically, he highlights rather than changing other’s minds about the value of your work, you short be aware of your work’s value. This is something that I agree with to some level. I understand that if I’m working for a company, then most likely, the people on top are much older than me. They grew up in a generation that sees graphic design as another form of art and don’t understand the importance. They may see our work as ‘just making it look pretty.’ So if we can try not to change their minds but just show them the power of good design, then that is how you reach this people. Jared Spool responds to this articling claiming that it was ‘harsh’ and ‘privileged’ which is something that I agree with as well. Allan Cooper is talking about this as a well establish, extremely experienced designer. He says that if you are with a company that doesn’t value your work or willfully doesn’t understand the importance of your design work, then you should just leave and work for a different company. Yes, I do believe that if a work place doesn’t value your work, then you should leave. However, Cooper fails to realize that not everyone is in his position to do that, As a young and upcoming designer, I don’t really have that luxury. When I get a job, I’m coming in as someone who has had very little experience and I’m basically a risk. They may look at me as taking a chance, while they could get a more established designer like him. Even if somewhere I was working at didn’t understand the importance of my job anon their company, but they were still paying me and using my stuff anyway, then they have some base level understand of it’s importance. I don’t need the CEOs of the company to personally tell me how good of a job I’m doing. They are already saying that by using my graphics. I think the article comes off a a little too prideful and doesn’t sit and think about the designer who are staring out. I’m not Bringherst getting a design job, I’m a newbie straight out to college and a job is a job. Maybe later I will be more picky with more experience, but for the time being, I cannot be.
Both authors go into how some dies doesn’t have value, like changing the color s or type to make it look pretty. I kinda really disagree with that. I think any changes, no matter how minuet, are still important. If they didn’t have value then why would it be changed. Even with the statement ’to make it look pretty,’ there is still value in that.