Journalists still complaining about how technology and social networks are killing print news? Newspapers will try to convince you of the old tale that says “If it’s in print, its real”. Well this story out of Ireleand is one for the papers (or is it?!).

Shane Fitzgerald is a senior studying sociology and economics at University College in Dublin Ireleand. Shane carefully crafted a quote of a recently dead musician on the musicians Wikipedia page. The quote was indeed fictitious, and was printed in prominent newspapers in England, India, USA and down under in Australia. A few weeks after his posting, he notified the newspapers that the quote was a fictitious fabrication, and part of his studies.

So what have we learned? People will sacrifice exact information for instant news, if not viral news. This is much the reason why newspapers are in the state they are currently in.

Everyone uses Wikipedia, including newspaper journalists.

This past Thursday there was another AIGA “meet and drink” event in Cambridge, MA. These events are great opportunities to network and see some fellow designer buds. I was anticipating this one to be no different than any of the other countless “AFTA’s” I have attended, but I must say, this time the word FREE was buzzing in the air.

Usually when I talk about free things, its mainly Open Source software or great places to learn technology for free. But in this case, free refers to “Freelance”. Out of all the people I talked to (about 12 in 2.5hrs), five have either quit their job or got laid off, and are starting to freelance and independent contract regularly. Of course, Freelancing is not free, you will get paid, but what a connection.

This trend is just one of the clear examples I can see, that proves that the web is still in an infant stage, and efficient technology drives design. Freelancing and independent contracting gigs are out there, lots of them. Business’ still need designers, just with no strings (salary, benefits, etc.) attached. What is a pension anyway?

I am excited to see that designers are getting themselves out there. By using social media and Open Source technology, plus some smart branding, you can make a business for yourself. Set up your website to give the user instant gratification; the faster the better.

In this economic climate, if you can deliver good, efficient design, companies will hire you. They just want to know that you can make it work.

With headlines like “The New York Times Co. has threatened to shut the Boston Globe…”, and a stream of articles from The Huffington Post about the print media death watch:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/death-of-newspapers (A personal favorite is To Newspaper Moguls: You Blew It by Jeff Jarvis.), What can I say?

Google is not going away, aggregators are only going to get faster and more efficient / accessible. So the only advice to give is: Wake up and smell the ink-on-paper!”. Newspapers, you’ve had your time.

I wonder though, what is the solution for a medium that thrives on yesterdays news? There must be a solution to this! In a previous post, I talked about a theory for a new E-Paper device. Good idea, but the rate of closing newspapers is faster than the rate that the device could be distributed. Not to mention prototyping and research. A large E-paper device is just to satisfy the “ritual” of holding a newspaper as an object. Google has already proven that people will forgo the physical object if they can access more data faster. So is there a solution? Slim to none.

Our business is located in the heart of the Boston area. When we heard that the Boston Globe was given an ultimatum to find 20M, or face the reaper, it was an eye opener, but not un-expected. Boston is known for its twenty something college students. Sorry Boston Globe, in the life of a college town, Facebook and iPhones are king.

Last night’s Hugh Dubberly lecuter @ MassArt was fascintating, inspirational, and a bit exhausting.

Entitled: “Design in the Age of Biology”, Hugh covers his thesis that explains how the ideas and principles of design have moved from mechanical to organic, and object to system. Many points (and charts) show how the trends of technology movements influence designers and the products they make.

In terms of technology, the Open Source software movement is one example of his theory. The old dev model was to have software be proprietary, with big conglomerates holding all the cards. The new dev model, that is proven to work, is to allow software to be developed by an unlimited community of developers. This creates faster more efficient development, as it uses the “from the ground-up” model instead of “from the top-down”. In short, let the users design the software, for free.

The second point that seemed to stick out in my mind was the “then and now” of the designers role. There is a transition going on now for designers. Graphic designers especially, seem to be in the thick of it. Before graphic designers, there were printers who set type. Then graphic design became what it is/was in the 20th century, a slew of  “Lone-Gunman” designers, who (are expected to) hold all the cards for the client. Now, a transition is happening again. The days of the “Lone-Gunman” are over. Designers can produce a stronger, more efficient product for their client if collaboration is encouraged and implemented.

Clients expect the designer to be at maximum efficiency. The internet, social media, and the speed of information access set the standards for designers to operate in.

“In the first part of the 20th century, there were great circus posters in Poland. Go to Poland, and see. But now, designing the poster is just not enough. Designers are expected to design an entire circus. Oh yea, and a poster to advertise the show.”
-Nathan Felde, Chair of the AIB Design Department, Boston.

From www.dubberly.com

This past weekend we had the opportunity to talk with new design students at the Art Institute of Boston. Nathan Felde, chair of the design department, invited us to come show not only current and past projects, but also talk about the current state of graphic design, and design in general.

Nathan started his presentation with an explination of the design program and the transition is is going through. Up untill recently the design department at AIB was on a different, if not anitquated track, for teaching design in the 21st century. Nathan’s theory of “Eventual Design” focuses on the hypothesis that design has moved beyond just objects and visual aesthetics, to behavior and interconnected goals. The role of the graphic designer for the 21st century is more involved than ever, in where the decisions of said designers, can effect all aspects of a brand, business and product. A comparison of design to Cybernetics was made.

Our presentation started thereafter. It seemed to be a nice follow-up to Nathan’s bit. We covered Ticknology, Kiosk, Contact+, and AnyoneCanSwiss. The students were definatly engaged and were humored by our AnyoneCanSwiss and the selection of posters.

Nathan feels that the our projects are artifact of the notion that with design training (graphic in particullar), a person can have a profound effect on all aspects of a project. In particullar, projects such as Kiosk and AnyoneCanSwiss, we feel are examples of this type of design theory. Kiosk is not only graphically designed, but also contains a buisness model and prototype, where previously a designers resposibilty would end at just the graphics.

Next week, Matthew will be attending AIGA’s Student Portfolio Review Day at MassArt, reviewing graphic design portolios of perspective students. Updates to follow with some photos of great design.