The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of The Design Star
On July 23 HGTV will premiere a new television series called Design Star, where "10 aspiring designers seek to impress home viewers and an expert judging panel with their design expertise, ingenuity, creativity and 'it' factor" for a chance to win their own design show on HGTV.
This show, of course, focuses on interior design, but what about graphic design? Is there really such thing as a graphic design celebrity? If so, how is this concept different than celebrities in other design fields such as fashion, interior, architecture? And is stardom a good thing?
The current issue of STEP inside design features an excellent interview with 30-year design veteran Marty Neumeier. Neumeier shares his thoughts on the concept of the graphic design celebrity and explains why its on the decline.
In sum, he says that graphic design stardom is more community based, rather than client or consumer driven. Graphic design stars tend to be famous among their peers for their more experimental work. He attributes the decline of the graphic design star to complex design projects that require a collaboration of specialists, rather than the work of just one person.
Neumeier also points out that effective graphic design is usually invisible. It plays a "supporting role, not a lead role" so for graphic design to stand out, some of this effectiveness gets sacrificed.
It's interesting, and I guess logical, that as consumerism gives rise to the HGTV breed of design star it is also killing the graphic design kind, but the end result is the same.
Graphic design is becoming more of an important differentiating factor for many services and products in the marketplace. This inevitably means that more people want to be involved in the design process. Not only is this collaborative design, it is safe, calculated design. There is less room and time for risk and experimentation.
As for the HGTV model, I'm sure most of the concepts featured on these shows are designed by committee, but because they play the lead role, the photogenic face of the "design star" becomes necessary to sell the designs as unique creations.
While the decline of the graphic design star may result in more "effective" design, it is still important that a "star system" remain in place because, as Neumeier notes, "we’ll still need them to inspire the students, break stylistic barriers, challenge the status quo, provide images for design magazines, and so on ... but the pay will be less, the audiences smaller, and the celebrity more fleeting."
It is admirable when imagination and experimentation is rewarded with celebrity among peers, especially in creative fields. I don't see anything wrong with this. And it's at least a little unfortunate that it is waning (although it may just be clearing of the clutter).
So, those graphic designers who seek stardom better understand and be willing to accept the sacrifices. If it's fame and fortune they crave, they best go hire an image consultant and head on over to HGTV studios.
A designer I used to work for, in explaining the number of egos in this business, said that being a graphic designer was the closest you could be to being famous without anyone actually knowing who you are. When you can walk around town and say "I designed that logo...I designed that menu...etc." ...even if nobody knows you, you're famous.