The Secret To 'Great' Design Is Simpler Than You Think

Event hosted by: ArtCenter College of Design

Join Chris Do in this thought-provoking discussion as he delves into the intriguing question of what distinguishes good designers from great designers. Chris Do explores the notion that transcending design and embracing additional skills and perspectives is essential for achieving greatness. Gain insights as Chris references discussions with fellow creatives about the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone, mastering the fundamentals, and debunking the myth of overnight success. Prepare to be inspired and challenged as you embark on a journey toward design excellence.

#graphicdesign #education #debate #freelancing

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Host: Chris Do
Producer: Mark Contreras
Cinematographers/Editors: Stewart Schuster; @RodrigoTasca; @Tascastudios; MOCS Media

[johnhubler]

As a long-time instructor of traditional martial arts, I have observed that the differences between bad & good are oftentimes glaring, while the differences between good & great are nuanced. I feel that it is the same with design. The design that implements terrible font choices, low-quality images, or has no clear symmetry or alignment... they are easy to point out as bad. Fortunately, those are also easier to correct. To go from good to great however, you have to be obsessive about the details. Meticulous alignment. Clear hierarchy. Lots of minuscule decisions, that when added together are noticeably better, but perhaps more difficult for non-designers to articulate why.

[hollowedboi]

Client sayin’ “make it magical.” I’m glad I learned now to keep asking questions beyond their frustration because I did that too late in the game; I made a bunch of “magical” with motifs of disney, harry potter, that guy that drowns himself, not knowing a lick of what she meant.

[agustinarrarte]

Chris, you and you whole team deserve a youtube award. Every single video is game changer for all of us, freelancers and entrepeneurs. glad that Im on the right way to achieve every goal I got. I Wont stop til earn as much money, to afford one of your amazing face to face courses.

[jeffpunzalan]

I found this channel in early 2017 and Chris helped me so much with motivation, development and inspiration as a new and hungry full-time freelance designer living in a foreign country at the time. I arirved back home to Toronto in 2018 and landed a design job and life happened / I slowly stopped watching youtube design content all together and eventually got burnout and almost left my careeer as a designer all together. Now, in 2024, I've been back designing from home full-time the last 3 years and have been feeling disconnected/out of touch with the design world, and now seeking inspo. I'm so glad to find your videos again, these new ones, revisiting old ones, and they still hold up, and they still inspire/motivate me (maybe even more now that I've got more life experience). All to say, Chris and the FUTUR team, I appreciate what you do and thank you for putting real, meaningful stuff out to us. Forever a FUTUR fan.

[itsMaxTrejo]

Thank you Chris! Your video sort of let some anxiety in me out. I do agree, as a 24 year old, I have a st*pd false narrative that I'm a failure because I'm not exactly doing as amazing as others, and this is due to social media. However, your video made realize "hey man, chill out, focus on producing great work for your clients, and one step at a time is good for right now." Sometimes i just feel we're all chasing the next contract, the next dollar, the next thing. That can be really fun until it's not. Some days one can feel super motivated to go into the world and cold call leads. Some others are filled with anxiety and doubt, and its videos like these that help so much to provide some perspective and truly make an impact in a person's life. I know it helped me a ton, even though it was only 7 min. Specially being in the same niche, there's a great level of relatability. Thanks Chris and the Futur team for all you do!

[jeffpunz]

I found this channel in early 2017 and Chris helped me so much with motivation, development and inspiration as a new and hungry full-time freelance designer living in a foreign country at the time. I arrived back home to Toronto in 2018 and landed a design job and life happened / I slowly stopped watching youtube design content all together and eventually got burnout and almost left my career as a designer all together. Now, in 2024, I've been back designing from home full-time the last 3 years and have been feeling disconnected/out of touch with the design world, and now seeking inspo. I'm so glad to find your videos again, these new ones, revisiting old ones, and they still hold up, and they still inspire/motivate me (maybe even more now that I've got more life experience). All to say, Chris and the FUTUR team, I appreciate what you do and thank you for putting real, meaningful stuff out to us. Forever a FUTUR fan.

[abrarSalehS]

The answer came to me very unexpectedly . I opened the video expecting a typical set of vague points kind of answer but he answered really beautifully. Definitely will save this for occasional reminder whenever I feel stuck or have doubts about my creative process

[Joe_Bandit]

My only definition of good design is that it achieves the purpose of employing design - communicates something, sells something, etc. The amount of contrast/whatever other design attributes are only good or bad as far as they contribute to the success of the goal.

[sniitzel]

You really stepped up the YouTube education game! I have my first ever student I need to supervise soon and give advice to, so this helps me tons! Also for my own design process of course, because one tends to have tunnel vision and ignores the big picture. Thanks 😊

[kourantulagaming]

What a great video. I'm not even a designer.. I'm just trying to create a logo for my LLC trademark and I feel like there are just so many bits of wisdom from this simply articulated 7 minute video. Just a brilliant mind/excellent teacher.

[MoreCreativeGFX]

You're making a significant contribution to the growth of budding graphic designers.

[lookslikeoldai]

Paul Rand has a nice set of 'aesthetics' rules. You can create your own in an afternoon, really helped me to look at designs in a different and more objective way. The more important aspect is clear and open communication with the client. If you want to be a visual communicator this should really be imprinted into your bones and into your skull, really understanding what somebody else wants is hard.

[RolandMillington]

I think it's interesting that we jumped to the "what's" of design structure when defining bad-good-great design when oftentimes we should start at the "why" of why we design in the first place. Essentially, we design to communicate effectively to a specific group. All the rest is just a call (tool, strategy, etc.) elicited for a response. Design seeks to communicate first and foremost; good design communicates more effectively than bad design, but not nearly as much as great design. Touched on at the end of the video is the easiest way to work towards a great design.
Ask ALL the questions until the client *communicates* a clear response.

[hey_benjamin]

For experience design, I often introduce to clients, that bad design drags on the objective you the user of the experience is trying to achieve. Good design removes friction to that objective, to the point where it can give you a boost or even feel second nature. From that foundation, you can move up the layers of abstraction, into the technical details or into the objectives, requirements and context that this experience exists and operates in. If you've even laughed at a joke on a Netflix show, you've experienced something that has many layers and levels of operation between your laughter and how it was manifested. All of them need to run in harmony, which broadly means that each part runs without drowning out or taking too much from the other parts. That runs from the script writer all the way through to the payment system and the device maker you're interacting on. But it's the same for a piece of music played on a piano. We as creators and designers can measure all of that and project into the future, something that hasn't existed yet or something that is not as it is now. From works of art to the cheap oil you put in your lawnmower, which is what design itself is.

[jonathanhammond]

Feeling blessed to have found this in my feed. Gave you a follow and took some notes for tomorrow's interview.

This was great breakfast watching before I dive into work! Love the hat!

[yt-sh]

"just focus on being good, coz it's freaking hard to be good"
👏👏👏

[drakanstudio]

Well, it's a somewhat elusive question. First of all, the way Chris does it is by reaching a consensus on what is considered good, bad, and excellent. This simply boils down to the type of people who determine the metrics or checkboxes that need to be reviewed in order for a design to be considered good. Personally, I think a good designer is someone who gives the client exactly what they ask for. An excellent designer is someone who not only gives the client exactly what they ask for but goes above and beyond that. On the other hand, a bad designer is one who, according to their own clientele, fails to solve the problem they were hired for. Now, the girl asking the question is interested in knowing how to distinguish a good designer from a bad one so that she can excel in the game. I say it's important to assess one's own level by comparing oneself to others, but ultimately, when it comes to creative matters, it's very difficult to determine who is better than the other. There are people who are very good at selling bad work, and there are people who do excellent work but don't know how to sell it.

[Koyasi]

Questions. Ask questions. Just asking questions separates you from competition because so many rely in assumption.

Great stuff as always.

[SGDCTVDUBAI]

A good design, anyone can achieve if they follow design fundamentals as well as inspiring from good designs or designers.
A great design requires high level of curiosity, courage, surprise factor (not copying any artist but coming up with an original). Both are a process, take their due time. Be patient, sit and learn with the greatest to be great!

[contra_hq]

This is 🔥🔥 Always ask tons of questions to know exactly what they want and what they don't know they need but should have 🚀