This week, Joe Hallock, principal design director at Microsoft spoke about different types of work we will encounter depending on our target audience (specific or broad) and information density (high or low). As an aspiring designer, I see myself working for a small agency—which can vary depending on the client, but helping others create a brand identity is something I hope to dive into. Brand identity encompasses many different layers and is what consumers use to distinguish one company from another. Things that embody a brand identity include the mission behind a company, the culture and ultimately what builds a connection between a company and its audience. Many things can be created to bridge that connection, such as logos, websites, product packaging and more. It really depends on the business/company because that in turn dictates the target audience, but I do see myself working on brand identity for companies that have a larger target audience base and generally lower information density as well—essentially for large consumers. Consumers go hand in hand with capitalism so it’s not the most ideal to feed into this market, but not all consuming is bad—if it can be made to be intentional (depending on the company and its values then helping with brand identity wouldn’t necessarily be a detriment to society. I want to put brands out there that are honest companies, but I know that won’t always be the case.
An additional area I’ve always wanted to go into is creating murals and designing large pieces of artwork for the general public. This area most definitely goes into a low information density and broad audience—for almost everyone’s viewing pleasure. I think creating something where everyone can consume and take in your creative designs is one of the most satisfying goals I aim towards, but it is also extremely difficult. On one hand as a designer because there is such a broad audience, do we now need to restrict ourselves more to be mindful towards everyone? At the same time, it’s impossible to cater towards everyone and there will always be people who may not appreciate the work that we produce. Ultimately, I hope to be proud of what I design and what I stand for, it may not be easy at times but that’s just another challenge I look forward to as a future designer!
