Does This Look Cliche To You?
I recently made fun of myself for using a pattern of diagonal lines in a layout. “Diagonal stripes are the calling card of a mediocre designer,” I said.
A great designer would have come up with something a little more unique, or a little more illustrative. Maybe create something textured, or make use of a photographic asset.
Part of why I said that is I’ve had this vague image in my head for years that I’ve wanted to create, and I just haven’t had a project that really had the character to fit that image.
I also think I still have some more experience to gain as an illustrator before I can do it right. I’m more of a designer than an illustrator, and while the two are connected, they’re not necessarily the same thing.
But Maybe I’m Glad I Haven’t Done It
I saw a design today that’s pretty close to what I’ve had in mind all these years. And in one of the last places I’d expect to see it: at a church (Via CSS Beauty).
What do I think of it, now that I’ve seen it? It does seem a little cliche. And very emo. But that’s just me.
I mean, it does do everything I said earlier. It makes use of design elements that are more illustrative, textured, and photographic. I like it when designers challenge themselves in these ways.
And I think it fits its subject matter very well. The caligraphic accents near the top of the page evoke a sort of passion that fits a progressive, charismatic-looking (although that term is controversial enough, I don’t want to say that I can figure it out for certain) church very well. It’s all very well executed.
It’s Just Not Me
It’s just that, you know, I look at that kind of design work, I can’t imagine that sort of thing being on, for example, my website. It’s possible I could do something like that on a certain kind of project sometime – I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea – but now I know better than to beat myself up for not imitating it with every project I do.
Duh.