This week I have been looking brief one for Contemporary Practice. The more that I produce the work for this brief, the more I am understanding why I am producing the work and understanding who I am as a person and why I am pursuing the subject. I have broken the brief one into two halves to split up the amount of work that I am writing about. The first half has been written into a post and can be found here: Brief One – Part one
This weeks notes:
The Effect of Globalisation on Design
‘Globalisation is a term used to describe how trade and technology have made the world into a more connected and interdependent place‘
Globalisation is for the most part has helped improve the world of design. What was once classed as the NOW way of designing and approach to design and communicating with clients, has been thrown to the wind thanks to globalisation. In terms of people and business it has helped to improve massively. Where previously people would have to become junior designers for about 7-8 years until they had reached a significant skill level and knowledge level, now you can leave university or college at a degree level or below and start your own business with nothing more than a laptop. Globalisation has lots of positives which are listed below:
- It encourages big ideas
- encourages more collaborations locally or globally
- enables new ideas
- allows for massive interconnectivity
- improves communication
- it allows for the idea that you CAN work across the world
- it opens lots of doors to new ways of thinking
On the other hand it has had some negatives towards design too such as:
- It is an unstoppable force
- It has managed to remove 80% of face to face contact with clients. Where you would once book in lots of meetings with clients and look at refinements of outcomes for them, now you have to rely on having a good relationship with your client and that they will reply promptly as possible to emails or potentially teams call etc.
- Engagement with clients and customers is key. Without the engagement, you will be stuck in limbo for endless amounts of time and can cause you to become demotivated with the project or subject.
- If you are having issues with clients and projects, book a meeting – these can dispel a lot of problems or potential issues further down the line.
Key Notes on design and globalisation
- Look at collaborations with people that specialise within specific areas such as photography, type designers etc.
- The location of where the design is produced matters and is relevant to the client and the design.
- Design trends are easier to spot and can cause everyone to design the same thing over and over.
- If you are looking for inspiration on a project, look everywhere but what you are producing. There is no point copying what your competitor is doing. E.g. packaging design – look for inspiration from type designers, editorial layouts, illustrators etc.
- Cultural design is massive when designing on a global level. Colour can have a massive impact on the design. What would mean something to one culture, means something different to another. E.g Red in South America means rage and anger, where as in China, red is considered to be lucky.
- Brands need to stick to their key core value and not to dilute it. The principles of the brand need to relate to the consumer and will allow the business to become more reputable and respected by the consumer audience.
- Be genuine
- Tell a story
- Keep it simple
- Think global, but act local
- Make it fun and memorable
LSJ DESIGNS 
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