I Got 99 Problems but Art Ain’t One…

I really enjoyed the assignment for this week’s blog post. One particular reason was watching the interview with Mark Romanek. In undergrad, I did an analysis of his visual creation for Jay-Z’s 99 Problems. That particular project was one of my favorite projects and it was great to hear his perspective on creating and his process for picking his visuals.

I also watched the video about Malcolm Gladwell. I have never read any of his work but it was interesting listening to how the artists came together to create a visual aesthetic that would match his writing. The process to find artwork that wasn’t distracting was extremely laborious and handled with care.

The two main themes that existed for both of these creators was how to make the right decisions to reach their audience. There was an extreme emphasis of how the images would affect people’s experience to their work. Romanek even said that even if he went through great lengths to get a great shot he would exclude that from his final body of work if it didn’t resonate with his audience. Even Gladwell echoed this sentiment when he stated that he wanted the artwork to compliment his words not distract from them.

These ideas aren’t new to me coming from a film/tv background. Every image, every cut, timing and the pace can greatly affect how the audience perceives your art. I think that even as we design things for the web we should also think about how the choices we make will influence our target audiences. Every color, every shape and the layout should be given great consideration to ensure that users have the experience that we intend for them to have.