What do Graphic Designers Do?

Graphic Designers: what is more important- doing fast layouts or great, but slow & meticulous work?

• I have a habit of spending a lot of time on projects because I want them to be fabulous. I'm a tweeker, meticulous... it's my craft, my passion! I've never missed a deadline, though- and I have no problem rushing and creating mediocre work if need be. But, I'd rather not. It's just that I've found sometimes the other designers end up with more of a workload because of it. It's just- I have SO many ideas, So many ways to lay out something, I could explore forever. And that's a good thing, right? I just want to make a good impression at my new job. And I feel like I'm going slow. But the work is good. I want to do the best work possible. I want to be the best designer I can be. What do you think? Serious designers only please!

• Answer:

  "Fast" and "great" need not be exclusive to each other. With experience comes the skills needed to work more efficiantly. That translates to being able to put out great work in less time than it used to. I no longer have to spend hours working out a decent beginning for a layout. My sense of compositon, balance, color and other elements is such that it is, actually, difficult to create a "bad" layout. Some, of course, are better than others, so I do spend some time, at the beginning of a project, to sketch out a dozen or so "thumbnail" sketches, before narrowing down the selection that I show a client. (remember, what I think of as the best layout may not match what the client thinks.) All it takes is a few minuted discussion for me and the client to agree on the direction we want to go and I can proceed. As a commercial artist, with the training and background I have, I have an understanding of psychology, typography and other influences on graphic design. As an Illustrator, I have an extensive library of reference material, PLUS a list of my favorite, online references for various subjects. All this, PLUS, the decision, made a few years back, to go nearly 100% digital, have allowed me to improve my throughput tremendously. I can, not only, do so much more than with traditional methods, I can do the work much, much faster. For a freelance designer, time really DOES equal money. Polish up your skills. Work on you BEST chops. Experience on the job will help your efficiancy.