Artist or Problem Solver?

yesterday afternoon i had a meeting with a home building company know as Casa Bella. they are a small company that builds around 100 homes a year, and like most other companies they are looking to grow. that is where i come in. Casa Bella has never paid money for marketing and now feels that they have a small budget to do so.

though i have a goal of owning my own financial advisory office, i'm not in a position to give up a full time job just yet. on top of that i feel the need to prepare for my pre-determined termination from the bank that i work for. i have a degree in graphic arts and i still enjoy graphic arts. also, like most people, i could use some extra money now and again. in order to fulfill my need for money and graphic design experience that will help me land a job outside of banking. i browsed the job board at The Art Institute of Dallas, of which i'm an alumni, and found the freelance opportunity posted by Casa Bella.

they are in need of a new corporate identity package (logo, business card, letterhead, and envelope) as well as a brochure for a promotional piece. the way they are going about getting their needs met is by holding a competition. i'm one of a few artist that are working on a package for them. the artist that makes the package that they like the most will be paid $1000 for their work.

personally i feel that i have a good shot of winning them over. i say this because after talking to them via phone on friday i got them to extend the deadline of the contest from yesterday until this coming friday. i feel that they pushed it back because i impressed them with my questions about what the company is trying to accomplish.

though graphic design is a form of art. i can't and won't call it pure art. pure art to me is a creation that is fueled solely by an artist's idea, passion and emotion. it is what the artist envisions and normally doesn't have anyone else’s interest or input involved. graphic design involves the creativity of an artist, but requires that the artist focus on solving a problem. a communication problem. graphic art is used to communicate a message to a certain group of people. not only does a graphic artist have to come up with a design that communicates to a certain group of people, but it must be within a budget, done in a very short amount of time, conform to preset limits determined by the client as well as pleasing to the client regardless of whether you think it is the best idea or not.

typically the client's idea of what would work best isn't the same as the designer's idea. if the designer cannot sale his idea to the client then the designer must do their best to bring the clients idea to life, and most of the time the client can't put their idea into words. much less illustrate it. which means the designer needs to know the right questions to ask. questions such as who is your audience? what are the core values of the company? how do you want the public to view the company, trendy, elegant, tough, fast, ect? thus i see a graphic designer as more of a problem solver than an artist.