Degas Ballerina at The Clark. Williamstown, Mass.

Occasionally, I go through these periods in which the only films I want to watch are documentaries. I’m in one of those periods right now, and guess what — It’s freaking awesome! I love noticing the various speaking styles of the people interviewed. How is their posture? What are their eyes doing? Do they speak in a dry monotone or are they expressive and energetic? More importantly, do they know what they are talking about?

The people interviewed in docs are often experts in their respective field, and it’s wonderful to listen to them go on about Ancient Mayan glyphs or the Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels (my Netflix thinks I’m an anti-Semite). Although these interviews are probably scripted or rehearsed, the ease at which the interviewees are able to speak on the topics at hand are remarkable. So much so, that it has inspired me to try to attain the same level of clarity in my daily conversations.

Like many designers, I have a folder on my computer filled with images of design work that I find inspirational. It’s an ever-growing archive of stuff that I like to browse from time to time. Most of the work has been downloaded from sites like FFFFound, Flickr, The NY Times website or the portfolios of other designers.

In the spirit of trying to become a potential documentary interviewee, I started looking through my inspirations folder and trying to determine what it is that I like about specific pieces and figuring out how to articulate it. Surprisingly, it was harder than I remembered. Many of us can determine why it is we like something, but making someone else understand why it is we like something is a bit of a challenge. It’s one of the first lessons they teach you in art school. However, as with figure drawing and mounting a double-page spread on foam core, once we graduate, we fall woefully out of practice.

As a graphic designer (and a human being), your ability to communicate is arguably your most valuable asset. This is why I’m asking you, dear reader, to take a moment out of every day to look at a piece of art and figure out why you like it. Afterward, write a few short sentences to explain to someone else why you like it.

Tomorrow I will begin logging my favorite pieces and writing about why I like them. Hopefully it’ll be an insight into my rationale as a designer and artist, as well as a valuable exercise in communication.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 2:39 pm and is filed under Inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.