| Can we call graphic design “art”? There are two approaches: one is when I work to express myself, the other is when clients come with a request and I have to find a solution. But, in both cases, there is a similitude: creation. It feels sometimes like graphic design consists of solving problems. I have this unpleasant feeling of worry while I’m looking for the answers. It is exactly like when you can’t remember the name of something, and it gets really irritating because you can’t recall it and you need to know it, now! This feeling usually lasts a maximum of an hour, but, in my work, it can last weeks and weeks, until I find the solution.
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My Affair With Graphic Design – Julie Joliat
Can we call graphic design “art”? There are two approaches: one is when I work to express myself, the other is when clients come with a request and I have to find a solution. But, in both cases, there is a similitude: creation. It feels sometimes like graphic design consists of solving problems. I have this unpleasant feeling of worry while I’m looking for the answers. It is exactly like when you can’t remember the name of something, and it gets really irritating because you can’t recall it and you need to know it, now! This feeling usually lasts a maximum of an hour, but, in my work, it can last weeks and weeks, until I find the solution. And, when I am working on several projects at once, then the worry is multiplied. At the beginning of the day, I question myself: "Which problem am I gonna deal with today?"
Finding a solution can be pretty easy, but finding the solution is pretty difficult: I always try to push further and further. I’m always reassessing everything I do; from the way a book is bound and structured to how it is produced. I am always trying to rethink everything from the start. The inspiration can come from anything: ideas may be in my head for quite a while until I find the right moment to use them. I think Paul Graham is right when he says: "The way to create something beautiful is often to make subtle tweaks to something that already exists, or to combine existing ideas in a slightly new way." Often, new things refer to things that have been made before, but by using them in a different context, it can bring a completely new meaning. For example, for the book Grafuck I was asked to make an illustration about the theme of the erotic. More than a simple representation of this subject, this collage confronts two, starkly opposing themes, which are, on the one hand: pornography, sex, taboo, hardcore and, on the other hand: childhood, naivety, happiness, sweetness. All my projects stay always in the back of my head. I love working on different projects at the same time, so that they can influence each other. Sometimes I get lost when I go too far, and that is the problem with graphic design, because one should not forget that its aim is to communicate.
When, finally, I feel this little wave in my belly, then I know I have found the solution. When I reach this point, that is when I love my work and fully enjoy being a graphic designer. I think to myself "God I am so good!" After this, the labor is still not finished. Until the end, I worry and, when it is done and printed, I am still not sure what to think about it. I really need some time to judge my work. It can take months before I can form a proper opinion about it. The famous architect and designer Ettore Sottass once said, "I want to throw my work into the world and see what happens.” Whether the reaction is positive or negative, I think I can learn more if my work is "in the world."
An example of a self-initiated project that I have created is an agenda I made for the year 2007. It relates to an episode in my life when I lived in the Netherlands. It’s not only a diary, but also a novel that tells a story through e-mails that I received, instant messages, pictures and notes I made during this period. I made it as a kind of therapy to say goodbye to this country where I truly enjoyed working.
I think I was born to be a graphic designer. When I was a kid, I use to make small books and invent stories. I would ask my parents to write down a story I was telling and I would draw illustrations next to it. I even designed some miniature magazines for my Barbie dolls. Recently, I found a porno magazine I made for Ken!
I remember one of my teachers said once, "Everything has been done before," and I found this quite frustrating as a young student at art school. For a long time, I have been wondering if he was right, but now I understand that he said this to push us to find an answer to this question, by proving to him that it wasn’t true. I keep on thinking in this way and that is what makes my job so interesting, because I think creativity is endless.
