Pixelated Perspective #3: Into Design

When I get into design, I sometimes get into a blocker. I feel like the CEO of Dunning Kruger Creative Studio, but I know nothing. It may come from a lack of experience in the field where something should be designed. Like Picasso said and you may be familiar with it: Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.

And that's one of the points today. No one learns the rules like a pro anymore. As Paula Scher says (correctly), and I can't repeat it often enough:

Everything is design.

Everything you see is design. Everything you get in touch with is design. A stop sign is a design. Your favourite coffee cup is designed. Your pen, your TV, and even the stairs in the house.

I guess 2 things let me fall in love with design: the amount of variation and the near to math. If you understand how many design topics can be solved just by math (12 grid, 6 grid, golden ratio, third lines, etc.),

However, YouTube suggested "5 laws of design layout & composition," and while I'm most often suspicious about it, I gave it a shot. Obviously, it was good. In the video, there are:

• Modular grids help with alignment. They provide a professional layout structure.
• Hierarchy and proximity ensure visual engagement and direct the viewer's attention in the right order.
• Layering creates a sense of uplift and depth, bringing movement and perspective to designs.
• Harmonised colours enhance the visual appeal, and global colours allow for consistent colour adjustments across designs.
• Clear focal points direct the viewer's attention and effectively communicate a design's main message.

When you see it, it's obvious. If something is ugly to you, you're getting confused, or you have to watch something two or three times, it's mostly because someone has ignored some design basics (which aren't easy to follow every time if you're not a pro—and if you're not working as a graphic designer: you're not). Don't worry - me neither. I'm just a guy living in front of a computer (sad to say, but it's more or less true).

Identify Heinz Ketchup by design

The case here is from Turkey and I'm not sure from which year. However, Wunderman Thompson Turkey made a design to identify the original Heinz Ketchup in restaurants. I checked it myself - the sticker on the bottle looks different for Germany right now. However, I like the idea anyway because it's smart and doesn't make any difference for the customers.

1st worms for GenAI

Worms, viruses, and spam are omnipresent and, most of the time, hidden from normal computer users. Here on LinkedIn, I got a hint that zero-click worms are already out there that try (sometimes with success) to get into GenAI. So, the user doesn't even notice (first) that something is not going as it should.

The problem appears when an AI-generated output is a prompt for another AI engine. There's a video for dummies that explains what happens there. It's not new, but with the rise of GenAI, you should be aware that something like that is possible.

And to close this issue - there's an image of Steven Bartlett (like him or not), which I can totally say is true. Just true.

Until next time!

Kai.