Mokokoma Mokhonoana || Graphic designer » Interviews http://mokokoma.co.za Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:57:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Interview by matric student: Chané Dreyer http://mokokoma.co.za/interview-by-matric-student-chane-dreyer/ http://mokokoma.co.za/interview-by-matric-student-chane-dreyer/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:56:20 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=2732



Chané Dreyer is a matriculant aspiring on studying Graphic Design at Inscape Design College, in Cape Town. Applicants were required to interview a qualified graphic designer as part of their application.

Because of my not-so-bad ranking on Google I was lucky enough for my website to have appeared amongst Chané’s web searches and I thought I should share the questions asked and how I answered.

Why did you choose Graphic Design as a career?

It sort of happened as a plan c, I applied for a diploma in copywriting but was rejected.

And I immediately remembered hearing friends during our matric exams talk about Graphic Design, I then decide to register for GD — though I had absolutely no idea what it entailed.

But in hindsight I feel blessed things turned out this way.

I don’t even want to image how life would have turned out should I have not been a Graphic Designer — Hell, sounds more like it.

What training did you undergo?

I did a two year Graphic Design diploma at a ‘some’ college.

What do you like most about your job as a Graphic Designer?

Graphic Design is one of the most powerful disciplines, a lot can be achieved through visual communications.

It can give people an order without saying a word.

Make you choose brand x over brand y based on nothing but the packaging.

Design can evoke emotion, thus lead to either action or inaction.

What do you dislike about being a Graphic Designer?

Though it’s understandable, the lack of design literacy from the clients’ side while they’re usually given the responsibility to reject or accept the final design solution — a decision mostly based on nothing but personal preferences or tastes.

You can’t expect a Doctor to let the patient decide on how they cure their condition — the Doctor is supposed to recommend the best treatment and medication.

And yes, a different medication can be recommended should the patient’s budget be below the expected cost of the medication.

Describe a typical day on the job.

I’m self-employed so fortunately for me, no piece of paper dictates where spend the first 8 hours of my day.

I don’t have a typical day expect the fact that I design daily.

The challenge for employers and creatives is that creativity knows no working hours, most creatives I’ve met actually find themselves way, way more productive in the evening. So isn’t it best to have someone do something at their best mental peak?

What are your future goals?

Help contribute to making the world a better place, in any possible way I can. It could be a simple do as inspiring + motivating a few souls, who I hope in return will do the same for a few souls, and so on…

Mentor as many graphic designers, as my schedule and remaining days on earth permits, as possible — knowledge grows when it’s shared.

And try my bit to give non design savvy clients basic knowledge by writing and sharing the little that I know on Design Literacy Journal.

Though I have dozens of posts saved as drafts, I’m battling with topics to cover as it is very hard to remember what if feels like NOT to know what you know — I believe knowledge once acquired feels like common sense.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in Graphic Design as
career?

You can never know enough — Read, read, read. (design + general stuff)
Excellence is never a destination, but a journey.

Do it for the love of it. Doing something just because “…it pays the bills” is so 80s!

Sleep less, sleeping is overrated.

Drink good coffee, most people call me insane — but there’s something spiritual about coffee.

Pray everytime before you work — i do.

Is there a future for Graphic Designers?

For as long as Judgment Day is not here, there will always be a need for visual communicators.

What is Graphic Design?

The art of communicating a message and/or a presentation of information, using visuals.

What “things” do you design?

I have the skills to design ‘everything’ but I prefer ‘things’ that demand conceptual thinking.

A designer with nothing but just an eye for creating great layout is all good but easily replaceable! When hiring I’d prioritize a conceptual thinker.

Ask yourself one question, have you ever heard of an ‘idea template’ ?

No. But there are millions of layout templates all over the net!

Is graphic Design the same as Computer Graphics?

No, computers are just a means and more efficient way to transform an idea into a digital format.

*Assuming our definitions of the latter are in sync.
Your question is equivalent to “Is music and a microphone the same?”

Graphic design is a discipline while computers are used as tools to execute graphic design solutions.
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Mokokoma Mokhonoana interviwed by a graphic design student, Neo DhlaminiI was recently approached by Neo Dhlamini, a graphic design student at Inscape Design College to be interviewed as part of his college assignment. Students were required to choose a professional South African graphic designer of their choice and ask them a few questions. And the interview went as follows:

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1. What process do you follow when you have a new project like creating a new corporate identity?

• I first meet (or communicate) with the client to give them an opportunity to present their company, background, products or services, competitors, the current and preferred image that their clients has about their company etc.

• I then research the client’s industry and see how their competitors present their brands. This helps in knowing the client more and it avoids me designing an identity that looks similar to my client’s competitors, which will be unprofessional as the aim is to differentiate client’s brand A from Brand B, C, D, E an so forth.

• I then decide on the style of an identity I will go with, after that I start brainstorming: sketching and playing around with ideas, at the end of this phase I choose the idea or solution that answers the client’s brief the best.

• The next step is simply to transform the logo I chose in to a digital format: i.e redraw the logo in a vector based design application, I prefer Adobe illustrator.

• After converting into a digital format, I then apply the logo to a business card and letterhead to give the client an idea of how the logo will look when applied to stationery.

• I then take my proposed design solution, and present it to the client. This includes taking the client through my creative rationale behind the design I would be proposing.

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2. How do you know whether your work is good, how do you set standards for yourself and how do you know that you have met the client’s requirements and expectations?

The first thing I always remind myself is that it’s not about me, I compare myself to a doctor, you only do what is required and best to ensure that you meet the patient’s brief, to heal them. As a doctor you might have years of experience in doing brain surgery successfully but if your patient’s challenge only requires painkillers to solve, then offer exactly that. Don’t operate simply because you can.

I don’t really set standards, I simply answer brief then my job is done. I only present ideas that answers the brief and I always make the clients expectations or requirements part of my brainstorming so I don’t go over or below my limitations [design brief].

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3. What do you consider to be great design – examples of good design?

Any design that is more of a communicating tool and less of a decoration. Looks are also important as they help in attracting attention, but the message of the design is the most important. But one can only know the real brilliance of a design after they’ve went through the brief that led to the design, because you get to learn the constraints and limitations that the designer faced.

Favourite designs: Apple logo, Woolworths‘ packaging for their products. And my recent would be logos for Black On Black and Zonkizizwe Investments.

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4. Identity leaves footprints in all spheres of life. Do you think that your identity becomes part of the projects you work on, in what aspects of the projects is it evident?

To some extend yes, but I think it’s more of “projects that I work on become part of my identity, more than me being part of their identity”. Offering clients excellent designs is the best form of effective advertising a designer can ever dream of, as it leads to more referrals at no cost to the designer. All the designer has to do, is do what they are hired to do – offer excellent design solutions.

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5. “and I’m not a racist, I’m just a visual poet at work ” what do you mean by that and do you think it is essential for a graphic designer to be aware of what is happening in their surroundings?

I knew that most people would perceive that design as me showing support to what happened at the Forum of Black Journalists meeting, which was definitely not my intention.

I think it’s a must for designers to be aware of their surroundings as it will help their work to be relevant, plus as a designer you get to learn about the different parts of the world, their culture and history which definitely affects your designs: For example white is a colour of angels, peace and brides to western people but a colour for funerals to Eastern people.

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6. How would you describe the characteristics of a good designer?

A communicator not a decorator. It’s about nothing but the client’s design challenge not the different photoshop effects you know!

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7. How do you conceptualize?

I play around different ideas by sketching them on my visual diary, [there's no such thing as a stupid idea, there's just ideas that answers the brief and ideas that doesn't so whatever comes to mind I pen it down on paper]. I then choose ideas that fit the brief best.

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8. Do you take design as career path or as something that is part of you?

It’s definitely something that’s part of me; luckily I’m able to make a living out of it.

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9. Who are your favourite designers and how much have they influenced you?

It has to be Paul Rand and Ji Lee, 2 of the designers I think are/were excellent as a visual communicators. With their work aesthetics always follows communication NOT the other way around. Ji Lee has a project named “word as an image” which influenced me in establishing Words Theater.

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10. What do think of the South African design industry in comparison with places like U.S.A.?

I think design or visual communication is a universal language. Take a look at the 2 icons (man and woman) used on toilets for example; it communicates the same message wether you in Nigeria, America, India or Hong Kong. Though, restriction because of geography, culture and religion sometimes apply depending on the location of targeted audience.
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