KD-Lounge Depot
• KD-Lounge logo designed by Bensch Lüdiger
Since 2006, there has been an ongoing lecture series KD-Lounge at the communication design department of the HTWG Konstanz. Design professionals are invited to share their work, knowledge and thoughts with the students. The lectures are organised by students and have gained an amicable following.
Now, we are compiling an archive with the talks, starting with this semester and hopefully adding previous ones sometime soon.
It’s my pleasure to introduce to you: the KD-Lounge Depot.
Criteria for Evaluating Projects
• A Humble Suggestion
There is this notion: A client can get a job done fast, cheap and well-made—but he can pick only two. What about designers? What are our options to pick from and what makes a project worthwhile? Please allow me to share some thoughts with the class.
In his book “How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul” Adrian Shaughnessy establishes criteria for good work:
- Is the client happy?
- Is the job profitable?
- Is the project newsworthy?
I concur with his list, but there is one downside: It’s difficult to apply these criteria to a project which is still ongoing. Listening to your heart—or gut, whichever gets more of your attention—is important. However, it’s nice to have more solid indicators. so far, these have worked very well for me:
- Time
How much time are you spending on the project?
or to put it this way: How much time is left for anything else? - Money
Are you getting enough compensation for your work?
It doesn’t have to be monetary. You can get more exposure or work with interesting people for a reduced salary. Still, there should be something in it for you. - Interestingness
Are you getting excited about the project or are you performing mundane tasks? (Technically, you have to rely on your heart/gut for this one.)
Of course, it’ll be great to be able to pick two out of three, as well. But at times, one prevailing factor can be enough to justify working late, earning less money or feeling under-challenged and nevertheless be satisfied.
Having said that, if you can’t check off any of those, I suggest panic.
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