Reading Week 1

The first thing in this week’s reading that really caught my attention was that it is not the computer that does the work, it is the designer and the computer is the tool.  I thought it was cool how the author related it to a guitar. This made me look at it differently, you can have all the proper tools in front of you but you need to know how to use them and open your mind when using them in order for them to work properly. I found it relatable to myself in the section where they were discussing how not all graphic designers are concentrated in the fine arts. As a psychology major I am most certainly not studying in the fine arts. However, this does not mean that I can’t have an interest in this area or that I cannot be successful at it either. One thing that was said was that graphic design was sometimes repetitive tasks, but I think this is true with anything. That’s what makes you good at something doing it over and over again. Also, I feel like with graphic design it always seems a little different since it is a different image or base that you are starting and working with. I think that graphic design has become more popular over the years partially because of the growing popularity of computers, social media, and photography. Even the every day person wants to be able to show off cool looking things to their friends. In the second part of this weeks reading, I thought it was very interesting when Glaser said that a difficulty in graphic design is putting the pleasure and some creativity to the side to make it match with business needs. I can see how this could be difficult but it was something that I had never thought of before as a problem. One quote that stood out to me was something Craig Frazier said “Passion, desire, and an ability to learn by observation and practice” (17). I think that this is true for not only those pursuing a graphic design career but any career.