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The Designer - August 02, 2007
It's 1978, a full-moon late summer night. Traveling up the Oregon coast, the lunar brightness nearly rivals daylight. Massive rock formations along a shimmering beach are so breathtaking I am compelled to stop. Walking along this beach, observing the rock formations, the beach, the moon, the starry sky, I'm struck with an incredible thought. This could not possibly have just happened. Let me explain.
At this time, I considered myself an atheist. And all my adult life I've been a professional graphic designer. Most people do not understand what that means. ?Once I've answered the question of my occupation the follow-up is usually, "So you're a cartoonist?"
"No, I design printed communications... like this brochure." I answer, handing them a sample.
"But this doesn't have any cartoons in it. Did you take these photographs?"
"No, a commercial photographer took those."
"Well, did you do this lettering?"
"No, that's type set on my computer."
"Then did you print it?"
"NO, a printer did!"
"Well, what did YOU do?"
"I DESIGNED it! Someone has to decide what size and color it's going to be, what to use for photos or artwork, how to crop them, how to arrange the page, what type styles and sizes to use, how many columns to use for the body copy, how it's going to fold, how to make it inviting to read, what kind of paper to use, whether it will self-mail or go in an envelope and how to design the envelope! In short, someone has to decide the best way to visually communicate in print. It doesn't JUST HAPPEN!
Bingo! The same thing people had been doing to me for years, I had been doing to the Great Designer. A printed piece doesn't just happen without being designed and produced. Whether it's done haphazardly by Joe Printer or thoughtfully by a professional designer, it must be designed and produced or it will not exist.
In the same way, this stunning coastline could not have just happened without a Designer. Clearly, the universe has design. Plants are designed to take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen, animals and humans are designed to breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Animals eat these plants and whatever is unused makes the earth more fertile for the next generation of plants This is design. How could the universe have such design without a Designer? How could it exist without the Great Designer?
Warren Kramer is the founding editor of Daily Wisdom and operates a graphic design service Warren Kramer&Associates, Warren Kramer & Associates | Visual Design for Print and Web, which offers visual design, illustration & art direction for printed communications, logos and corporate identities, signage, trade show displays, and of course, web sites
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Originally Posted by Chad
