It is important to understand what is going on around you as a designer, and to tap into media trends, local news, and world news because theses are all forms of communication that are happening. They are informing, and have been informed by relevant factors in the world. Losing touch with these factors will inevitably cause one to lose touch with people, and the jobs those people provide.
Do you think it's important for an illustrator to have a good sense of current events and the world at large? I ask because so much nonverbal communication is embedded in an image, more and more it seems illustrators are expected to express a great deal in their work.
That’s an interesting question. I guess it helps to keep in touch with current events, you can certainly communicate better with the client, deliver what they're looking for. Other than that, I don't know what's important for an illustrator. It’s important they know how to draw, and know what their peers are up to, if they want to be out there competing for jobs. If I was relying on a style like graffiti paint drips, and didn't look around and realize everyone else was doing that, soon I would be lost in the midst of all these other people, so its important to at least realize what is kinda going on in the world of commercial illustration, or snowboard illustration, or clothing illustration. As for seeing Iron Man or voting in the current election, I don't associate those things with something I have to do because of what I do. But, if on my next job the client says "I want this sticker graphic to be the Iron Man of the sticker world", well then I should go out and see Iron Man I guess. But I've already seen it. And I still wouldn't know what he meant.
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