At first glance I can see what Michael Bierut was trying to communicate. Designers and people are different in many ways. Most people like what other people like and negate individuality for what someone else has or likes. Bandwagon mentality sets in for the consumer and makes him very opposed to change and new ideas and things; this is unless of course the consumer sees a large initial reaction for a product or company. Most designers want to test the tried and true and branch out to something new and unheard of. Although this mentality easily clashes with the consumer mentality and as Bierut points out that these design choices usually end in mass backlash and public outcry. Although even after you spend all this time and come up with something that speaks to the public and conveys the company’s motives, you still have to get an approval from the company or client that you are working for. They might not like it, they might and maybe they are just not ready. Bierut points this out in the article and I agree that sometimes the logo isn’t up to the people or the designer, but the person who signs the cheque.

Even after you convince the client to sign the cheque, you have to deal with the public’s opinion of the design and whether or not they are supporters of it. Bierut says that many people see a new design and proclaim that they could have done better and that their kids could have as well. I can attest to the fact that I myself have engaged in the spectator sport of graphic design criticism. Many times I have looked at a logo or even art work and gave my own opinion on its likeability and skill level. I find myself ripping apart a logo or design more than I have been praising them. It’s a bad habit since I am in a field of study that requires many hours and work to exceed and even have your work exhibited in a logo or design. I think change is good and something that we need to embrace as a society and starting with designs and logos is not a bad place to start. Hopefully company executives start hiring more creative people to be there design liaisons so that more of them will continue to become the mediators of cheque writers and the general public’s design views. It’s not going to be easy but at least the future will look modern and new.

Graphic design criticism as a spectator sport – Michael Bierut