There’s a power that comes with diving into a new field from an angle of exploration rather than professional accuracy and precision. I have found this to be true in design.
Tinker Hatfield started exploring shoe design after his athletics career-ending injury. And alas, Nike’s Air Maxes were born.
I’ve always enjoyed design — graphic, web, fashion (apparently my taste here is very questionable 😂), motor vehicle, but especially digital product design. I’ve even done a few gigs for a few pennies, resulting in happy clients. But passion doesn’t guarantee competence. I’ve always been rough around the edges when it comes to the rules and principles of good design (I was tempted to put that in quotes. Let’s save the cynicism).
When I was thinking about today’s piece, I wanted to claim that ignorance has been my to advantage. But honestly, no; I’d be a better designer with a firm grasp of the fundamentals. Guidelines exist for a reason.
Still, there’s a power in not knowing. No boundaries. Just passion and limitless ambition. Without guiderails, you wander, and in wandering, you discover. You mix shades into new colours, stumble into strange concoctions, and sometimes, hit gold. Sure, hitting your small toe on a rock a couple of times comes with groping in the dark, but probability promises you’ll eventually strike gold (sooner or later).
This line of thought came from my latest experiment: magazine cover design. Having some ideas in mind, I flagged off the journey with a design series of magazine covers themed “To Be Or Not To Be”.
I started with a simple image and some text layouts. After posting the first one, I browsed actual magazine covers and realised how far off-track I was. A video from Envato Tuts+ confirmed it, my design was farther off the rails than I’d thought.
Then I tried adding a barcode. Totally non-functional, purely aesthetic; but it instantly looked more like a “real” magazine cover. That small tweak felt like a win… until I realised why barcodes exist and how space is intentionally left for the publisher in a professional design setting.
Other differences stood out too. My made-up magazine’s name, theJoernal Mag, sat in tiny stroked text, while mainstream covers like VOGUE or TIME plaster their names in the largest type on the page. I put the date and issue number above the name instead of using the conventional “Volume / Issue” format. And surprise, my series counts backwards, starting the release with Issue #57 finishing at #0. Breaking rules without even knowing they existed? Absolutely.
Eventually, I stopped myself. If I follow every rule to the letter, my covers won’t feel like mine. They won’t be different. They won’t be memorable. And they certainly won’t have that little ingredient I’ve recently discovered about great design: the power to irritate some people and delight others.
Selfishly, while art is a canvas for self expression, design is a means to problem solving. Combine the two and you get frankenstein’s monster. And that’s beauty in this age, it just works.
So yes, I’m learning the rules. But I’m also keeping my bias towards making it personal - throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. Adios!
Artistic Wandering