I want to be a bridge.
My philosophy in any of the design work I do is to make sure I am connecting my clients with their customers, using the right materials to create a solid foundation for their message to traverse upon. Bridges are not built to be beautiful; they are built to be functional. Beauty is just an added benefit. That's not to say I believe in ugly design. I just do not believe that beauty alone drives the design, the content and its audience do. Without that understanding, design becomes nothing more than a decoration, pretty and purposeless.
With that said, it is also important to relate to the ones you are connecting to. Understanding who your audience is helps in choosing the right elements that will speak to them. You may imagine this as choosing the right material for your bridge. The stronger the elements relate, the stronger the bridge and the connection. As a designer and an instructor, I will make it a point to provide the best bridge possible to carry the intended message across, a bridge that has purpose and connects to the right audience.
In education, I believe it to be highly important that we not forget that our audience changes nearly every semester and from year to year. Research shows that bridges of the past such as lectures no longer connect with this new audience as they once did. The model of business has changed to keep up with this new generation, it's time education did too. If you are looking for innovative and creative ways of reaching them, that's what I'm here for. In fact, if you are looking for innovative and creative methods for reaching any audience through design, that's what I'm here for. While there are bridges that stand the tests of time, I also believe there need to be bridges that change with it.
- jsn