On Tuesdays, we watch talks or interviews with artists and designers and discuss how to present our work clearly and with confidence. Today we’ll listen to graphic designer Aaron Draplin talk about the timeless nature of good design.
As you watch this interview, consider these questions: Does the designer speak clearly and with confidence? Does he use gestures and intonation to emphasize his points? Does he smile and look at the camera? Does he use professional vocabulary?
What does Draplin do well? He’s a good speaker, so he looks at the interviewer and speaks confidently. He also gestures and uses facial expressions to emphasize his points. He speaks clearly and his speed and volume are good. He also uses vocal variety, or intonation, to add emphasis to what he’s saying. This really helps him to convey how passionate he is about his work and makes him interesting to listen to.
What could he improve? The only thing I noticed that he could improve is his use of filler words. He says “you know” many times during this short interview. This is natural and many people do this when they speak and need a moment to think, but it’s better to avoid filler words if you can. They can make the speaker sound too casual, nervous, or even unintelligent.
What professional vocabulary does he use? He begins by saying that he likes things that aren’t susceptible to style or what’s cool. Susceptible means affected or harmed by something, so he means that he likes things that are timeless and look good forever. He talks about how with older designs if the principles are sound, meaning still strong, the design still works well. Next, he talks about how we can learn from old designs that still look fresh today. He says he tries to mine those things, which means to search for something valuable. He also says he cherishes the restraints those artists faced because they were able to make good designs with much simpler tools than artists have today.
He also talks about the beauty of the overlooked in old designs, and he “nerds out” (which means to get excited about something that other people think is nerdy) and tries to apply that idea when he creates a logo for a new brand. He says that even though many of the designs he creates are only used in digital form, he thinks there is something primitive (something simple and basic from the past) about putting a design into print. He means this in a positive, creative way, though. He leaves us with three tips, and the last one is to savor the process of getting your work printed (which means to take the time to enjoy it) because it is a special moment in the creative process when your work becomes a physical, lasting thing instead of just a link in your Dropbox.
At Artglish, we help artists and designers to speak confidently about their work. We coach you to speak professionally using the best vocabulary and correct pronunciation. If you’d like to learn more about what we offer, click here to get exclusive content, or check out our Courses page.
I’ve chosen 5 words or phrases for you to focus on today. They are in bold. If you don’t know them, look up the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, and other forms of these words. You can find links to Merriam-Webster dictionary sites at the bottom of this page.
To see the original video, posted by Domtar on March 1, 2018, click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTvGnnTPGQM