I get challenged every single day at work. Creating breathtaking designs is hard enough, but making them functional enough to be displayed as a full-blown magazine article is even tougher. Most people think being a graphic designer is simple. They think it's about sitting down and just making figures and putting them together on Illustrator. They forget the fact that it takes a lot to be a graphic designer.. a good one at that. A big part of being a graphic designer is mastering the tools you have. Photoshop, Illustrator and software such as those are no simple applications.
Yes, the simple stuff is easy to make.. but anyone can do beginner stuff. Creating beautiful artwork requires years of mastering the application and learning tricks and techniques on how to accomplish certain looks, effects and visualizations. THAT is the easy part. The hard part is taking those skills and creating original work. Using your imagination is not that hard. Almost anyone can be creative, but how many people can be creative enough to think of something no one else has done? It's hard.. really hard. Then apply that to functional designs and real-world applications. Taking beauty and making it functional is a very large challenge. I get written articles every day and making artwork that not only portrays what they writer is trying to say but that also looks amazing is one of the hardest things I've had to do. Sometimes I get lost and run out of ideas. That's why I now dedicate at least one hour every morning to looking at other artists' work. Other designers, illustrators, photographers, painters are priceless sources of inspiration.
Last week I stumbled upon the photography of Tony D'orio. The first photo I saw was one of a man shinning shoes. The man was Donald Trump (yes.. the multimillionaire-apprentice-hiring-casino-owning Donald Trump). Curious enough.. that wasn't what caught my attention; It was the quality of the work and the original style to it. D'orio developed his own look making it look modern with a retro touch to it. And THAT is my favorite kind of art. I love modern designs... but when an artist hints at vintage or retro.. they instantly gain me as a fan.
This kind of work is not simple. It takes amazing lighting to create a scene for a great photograph.. but it takes exceptional lighting to get this high-quality work. Not only is the setup and scene incredible.. but the vibrancy of the colors and shading is very unique. I have no idea how he gets these kinds of tones without losing color or saturating the picture.. but if I ever reach this level of mastery, my designs will be that much better and I will be able to die a happy man :D
