As a photographer and visual media student, whenever I see the graphic design students or their work out in the hall, I always have the utmost respect for them. Despite us being on the same floor and under the same “creative academy”, our fields have completely different skill sets.
One thing I admire about the graphic design students that I would also like to emulate myself is their extremely sharp focus towards an end goal. Oftentimes when discussing or working with them, they have an extremely clear and thorough idea of what they want their final product to look or feel like. Though of course there is always a trial and error element to all work, the precision they have towards a final concept is always inspiring to see and a great asset to have when working on a team with them.
The versatility of what graphic designers are learning as well is very admirable. While us as visual media students have a somewhat narrow scope of work, the graphic designers seem to have an expansive catalogue of skill sets to learn. Not to say that us as visual media students don’t have a large skill set, it just appears as though the graphic design students have a diverse curriculum that allows them to branch off into more workspaces.
From my limited work with the neighboring program so far, the way in which they approach tasks creatively always inspires me. Of course all artists have unique visions, but the way in which the graphic design program is able to hone in their artistic vision to follow a prompt or a task while maintaining their creative voice is always great to see. I believe this is why they are in such high demand in the business world, they are able to give a creative edge to industries while keeping the scope of a companies “aesthetic” in line. Oftentimes, more so than most visual media work, the work that they create appeals both to the world of art and the world that makes money.
One of the most inspiring takeaways I have from our graphic design neighbors is the way in which they take inspiration from other pieces of work, and shifting ideas to create their own pieces. Often as a visual media student, I feel like my work isn’t original enough, or my works are too inspired by other works. However, the way graphic designers approach this dilemma is something I myself am trying to do as well.