This is the second in a series on the importance of good design. While it is a very general term, most forms of design do share similar principles and objectives and simply use different tools to accomplish them. Sharon sat down for an interview with her friend and graphic designer, Corti Cooper to learn more about her field and consider the similarities it shares with landscape design. Corti is Principal & Creative Director of Dot Think Design (http://dotthinkdesign.com) as well as a Yoga Instructor for Yoga Out of Bounds (http://yogaoutofbounds.com).
(Corti, pictured above in her studio with dog, Ella)
Like many of us, her career path has taken sudden and sometimes unplanned turns. Corti was originally enrolled in the Design Technology, Theatre program at Purchase College. When she decided painting fake walls wasn't for her, Corti went to the Dean of the visual arts department at the college, showed him her theatre portfolio and was told, "You're going to be a graphic designer!" After working around the world for a large corporate hotel company where she was involved in the graphic design and marketing of several successful brands, Corti went out on her own. While it was natural for her to continue in the field of graphic design, it was a desire to improve her own yoga practice that lead Corti to take a certification course and discover the love of teaching that created her second career as a yogi. In addition to leading classes, Corti has now created the website for her yoga studio, continues to design for the hospitality industry among others, has begun fundraising for a charity to benefit relief in Haiti and continues to travel the world. She finds inspiration for each of her fields in the other and here, discusses how good design improves life.
What mediums do you use, which is your favorite?
I mostly use the computer to create, it's a job and a passion. I get excited about crawling out of bed to get a cup of coffee and head to my living room for another beautiful day of web banners, concepts and colors.
Clarity, I seek to take the message that is given to me by my client or collaborator and transform that into words and pictures that are easily understood by anyone. Ideally, the design itself should be transparent. There is only the business, the person, the idea.
How do you accomplish that objective?
Research, research, research. I look at what other people are doing in that category. I read about ideas in that school of thought. I follow the direction of others. I may read a book on yoga, come up with a metaphor and use it as a design direction for whichever client I am working for. Truthfully, it is a game of chance. True clarity can arrive in this moment, but delusion and bad design happen too. Through research, communication and quantity, both designer and client can usually come to a consensus on some design that is acceptable to both.
In your opinion, what makes a good design?
Good content and good ideas. In commercial design, thoughtful brand positioning or clear product definition and well thought connections between that and the design, are crucial to accomplishing an objective.
In interactive design (movement, websites, digital campaigns), user experience is king. Websites have to inform the user within seconds, what the product is, what they can do on that site and multiple options for how they can do it. This is a new art that continues to evolve as our culture becomes more and more web centric. My personal preference is for clarity; Simple sites with white space and freedom to find the few things that interest you and a simple path to those interests.
In artistic design, good design is in the eye of the artist and then secondarily in the eye of the viewer. Each artist has a vision and a desire or passion to create.
What considerations do you use in design? (color, balance, theme...?) How do they create a good design?
I was professionally trained at an art school to consider all of these things in each piece, on each separate page, on every logo and every web banner. Of the main elements, I am most interested in composition. What is the whole picture and how can I direct the viewers eye and therefore tell a story.
Beyond the basic tenets of art is typography. I am passionate about typography. The shape, space, height, size, weight and case play into how the viewer perceives the word that it is written in that font. With the goal of making the actual font invisible, I choose fonts that, in my perception are in line with the basic brand positioning, the idea of the piece and any history associated with the brand or product.
White space. In order to breath, we need space in our lungs and body. In order to move, we need space in our muscles and bones. Our body is a fine tuned balance between matter and space, between stability and movement. All art, including design, mimics life. Good design depends on copying this idea. There has to be a balance of ideas and space for those ideas to move and breathe. Literal white space on the page allows the viewer to consume the concepts and understand the product or services. Without this space, the viewer is suffocated and blasted with too much information which causes a thought process that could result in moving away from said design or struggling through it. Either way, the simple communication of the idea is lost. There is a simple success in giving the viewer the independence to appreciate the ideas in their own terms
Good design communicates and participates in the conversation that we as a human family are constantly evolving. With good communication, we are able to understand each other and our options better and therefore make better decisions. Design is a part of the product or service, seamlessly interweaving so it is not visable but working as part of the greater whole. Good design can make our lives easier by giving us something we need (rubber gripping on kitchen utensils, originally Ozo) or by facilitating communication and creating change (Facebook Groups - Egyptian young people organized their protests by utilizing the design of social media).
Name something else you think is well designed; product, art, ad campaign...etc.
One of the best example for the good design is the Apple IPod. It is clean, easy to use and never gets in the way of letting the owner listen to music. One of the keys here is iTunes, a program that not only allows you to organize your music but also gives you access within the program to purchase music. The design is not in the frills but the transparency, the access directly to the music.
What inspires you? What are your creative outlets?
Love and passion inspire me. Color, typography and space inspire me.
