As I look around my desk, I see many things. Garbage and paper scraps are certainly present, but there’s other things as well. Mainly posters and photos, as well as a drawing. I keep looking around, and I wonder who made some of these images. I know who made the photo’s of my friends and family that are above my desk, but who designed my Walking Dead poster?
Now, I know AMC is the company that produces and airs the show, and Image Comics produces the comic books (which are way better, seriously). I have this poster though, and it’s basically just zombie heads with the text “the Walking Dead” across the bottom. It says “AMC” in the corner, but that doesn’t mean they designed it. See, I consider myself a designer, so I often think about what kind of person the designer would be behind X design. Sometimes I’ll wonder “Who the hell designed that piece of garbage?” Other times it’s “My mind is blown. Who the hell designed this beautiful masterpiece!?” In this case, I have no idea who designed my poster. I don’t even know the firm that did it! I guess that’s fine though, since it’s not that cool. Okay, it’s moderately cool.
You know what it cool? The drawing of Jimi Hendrix that’s framed and on my wall. I know who drew it, but I do not personally know who drew it. My mom actually found it in the basement one day. The story goes that her friend drew it for her while they were at the bowling alley downtown in our town. The guy that drew it was a talented artist, and everybody knew that he was going to go far, and that he was going to “make it.” That was about thirty years ago, now he’s a notorious drug user and town drunk. I’ve never met the man, but it makes me sad to hear that. It makes me especially sad, since this picture of Jimi Hendrix is the coolest drawing I’ve ever seen. I keep it around for inspiration, in fact.
It’s always cool to know who the author is behind things. Well, most of the time it is. However, knowing who the author, artist, or designer is would give the piece all new context, and can alter the meaning. For me, the drawing of Jimi Hendrix went from a piece that meant “awe that’s so cool,” into sort of a reminder to never fall off, and to stay focused.
A Guy on the Internet 