The future face of digital design

“Vilem Flusser, one of the great modern theorists on communication in the 20th century, predicted the pixel landscape as the new world we would move through -and the technological advancements made since the introduction of the personal computer and the World Wide Web has indeed led us into the era of the pixel: the universe of the technical image,” she says.

In the technological climate in which we now live, there are pixel-based screens everywhere: on computers, televisions, mobile devices, digital cameras, DVDs, MP3 players, data projectors and ATM machines, to name a few. “As technology has become cheaper, lighter and more accessible, our everyday lives have become more image-orientated: there is no cellphone without an animated menu these days. We move freely through artificial user interfaces every day, flicking through menus, clicking and watching animations, and interacting and communicating via screen technology,” says Csernyanszky.

These advances have dramatically impacted on the way we receive, send, view and process information, and this in turn is shaping the way in which creative media are being produced, she explains. “For example, although television changed the face of advertising, the traditional TV broadcast model no longer fits the lifestyle of younger people, who find it boring only to receive information, as they are constantly sending data themselves. Mass TV broadcasts also do not allow for customising the information to which we are exposed, whereas through internet technologies such as Web 2.0 and Ajax we are able to select and view only the information we want.”

Communication is simultaneously becoming ever cheaper and broader, with video conferencing and international calls now everyday phenomena and no longer the preserve of corporate giants with large budgets. “All these changes are affecting design, she says. “If our work as designers is not adapted to the way in which creative media are being produced, then not only will we be left behind, but our clients will not be exposed to and will be unable to market their products through the new channels available.”

Already corporates such as Coca-Cola are advertising on computer games, while others have established a presence in web worlds such as Second Life, a 3D online digital world that simulates real life, she says. “Companies such as IBM are purchasing ‘land', erecting buildings, and marketing and selling their real-world products and services in this virtual world. The Second Life marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions among its residents, who presently number nearly 7.5-million from around the globe. Since this virtual world was opened to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively, and is now described as a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity.”

It is essential for graphic designers, marketers and art directors to have a basic understanding, at least, of the new technologies now shaping our existence and the media that best reach their target audiences, she says. “They need to feel at home in relatively new fields such as motion graphics, and must work across media such as film, animation, advertising, 3D-rendering and art. Games consoles have become an important platform for visual designers, and the creation of audiovisual art and VJing calls for new tools and software, which they must learn to use effectively.”

The blurring of boundaries between visual design, interior design, multimedia and sound design that has resulted has also led to the development of new job descriptions. “Jobs that previously did not exist are now in demand, such as ringtone developers and mobile graphic designers.”

Csernyanszky recently came across a job ad for an “interactive” art director at a full-service ad agency, requiring the provision of integrated, customised, creative marketing solutions for global clients. “In today's digital climate, an art director is expected to design concepts and produce new media ads, wireless communications, website content and other digital and interactive media. Great design skills are a must and knowledge of traditional media including print and broadcast are a plus.”

Friends of Design, the company she founded, has already designed a course purely to create graphics for mobile devices, for design students at a Cape Town technikon. “These students are on the cutting edge. Through our training links with the German graphic design industry, we are able to help all local designers step into the ‘now'.”

For information on the courses available, contact Friends of Design on 021 461 0971 or e-mail eva@friendsofdesign.net.