Angelo Bellandi, diretor de criação do escritório da Landor Branding em NY, acredita que o NOVO DESIGN nasceu para nos fazer desconfortáveis, o que é uma boa medida de seu valor no mundo, e pensa que é porisso que não o vemos muito no mercado. Nesse texto, ele descreve a mudança da nomenclatura de DESIGN GRÁFICO para DESIGN CRIATIVO e as grandes mudanças das marcas e empresas no cenário de 2012:
“Will 2012 be a year when we push the boundaries and asks further questions around our own abilities as designers/creatives, more than we did last year? Personally, I would like to see “new design,” new graphic design that pushes the limits while supporting brand-building opportunities. Graphic design is actually a strange title today because you don’t hear it used anymore. Maybe it’s just simpler to say “design creative” rather than “graphic design.” Not sure why this has happened. Culture shift, maybe? Or maybe designers today “cross-pollinate,” and use their various skills across many different platforms. It’s true that today all designers are usually self-taught at working with different media (technology has allowed this self-education to happen.)
I’m optimistic that 2012 will be the year new design will further instill itself in our lives as our industry becomes braver for clients and projects. It’s true that design is reinventing itself to be more purposeful, which helps create positive change in the world. Our world is already full of design; it surrounds us everywhere, from the clothes we wear to our environments and products we use, but I’m talking in particular about our industry. About design being at the center of what we do; the core visual statement of an amazing strategy that supports new business objectives while creating new opportunities for all, employees and consumers alike.
Have you ever wondered why a bank looks like a bank? I have, many times… Is it a trust factor? Do we only trust banks if they look like banks? Now apply that thought to everything and it becomes evident that our world is a measure of our own ability to create design that fits into categories we’ve created in order to feel comfortable. Do we really meet our client’s objectives long-term, or just answer them for today when design is applied as decoration? I’m curious why the world looks like it does and how everything seems to just fit in, blending into the ordinary. It’s beneficial to all the chosen agencies entrusted with delivering new brand projects to have a strong point of view when design is applied. To be known for something other than delivery of nothing. Why? The simple idea of design alone is the benchmark for new. The whole notion of creating new is something that keeps me awake at night, especially early on in a project. The mere fact that you have to produce something that hasn’t been done before will have most designers running for the hills, but that really is the point, isn’t it? Why we do what we do. A studio should have a set of principles that they work to. This helps align the creative understanding and keeps the team focused on the objectives while allowing space to explore and learn as they go. A set of principles made up of who you are and what you stand for. And not just creative, but the entire organization.
It’s become apparent over the years: most clients may not understand the value of new design and the role it plays in supporting their strategic objectives. 2012 will see more brand launches called “new brand” and “rebrand,” but how many will truly be “new?” If I think back to 2011, many game changing brands were created. The reason why I use the words “game changing” is because someone once said to me they wanted game changing work, but didn’t explain exactly how you measure it. Game changing work is split between strategy and design. Together these two are fearless, get the mixture right and the outcome is super positive, one for all. You measure game changing with long-term business outcomes grounded in solid strategy that looks beyond today, creating platforms for sustainability and social change on both sides of the fence, allowing creative to spring, unleashing new design on the world. New design is meant to make you uncomfortable, that’s a good measure of its value in the world, and I guess that’s why we don’t see much of it in the marketplace. All the great brand projects of the 20th and 21st centuries have one thing in common: a CEO with vision. It is crucial to early on seek out a client’s ambition for each project, clearly outlining what’s expected. At the same time, the CEO should understand your ambitions as an agency and the values you hold so close in delivering amazing work, the thing that makes you great, and your point of view, whether design, strategy, or your culture.
I’m not sure what will happen in our industry this year, but I’ll wait optimistically and in anticipation that we’ll create “new” and not just something that keeps the lights on. The world is full of amazing people doing amazing things; I wish everyone the best for 2012.”
Foto: Landor
"Every soul needs a body" 