Hi…I’m Tadpole and I’m a recovering Bozo

I have this Uncle. I see him about twice a year. He’s a cool guy but recently he’s been giving me a hard time about my decision to pursue design. He wonders what motivated me to sink deeper into debt so that I can learn how to “sell people crap they don’t want.” My initial reaction was that he obviously doesn’t get it. First of all I’m not to be confused with an “advertiser” (which at the time would have said squeezed through a grimace). I would have defended my still intact soul and my dedication to making the world better through logo sketches and well rehearsed diatribe on the importance of form and function. None of this did anything to change his opinion. It’s been a few months since the last time I spent any time with my Uncle but I think things have changed and that I may have a different answer the next time we talk.

The design/ad world is tarnished with a (quite possibly well earned) stereotype of deciet and trickery. We are blamed for urban landscapes cluttered with screaming, sunbleached billboards, Starbucksosaurus’s and

Head-On commercials. It’s a Cool-aid that many have tasted, including myself. Especially, in the world of education, it’s easy to get caught up in empty brand-ification where logos are pretty, taglines witty but consequence is inconsequential

So there we go… as they say, admittance is the first step to recovery. This, however, is not what motivated me to want to be a graphic designer. Even the paycheck…(which will definitely be a perk) has little to do with checking myself into this tricky, nut house of an existence. So why then do I want to go into design? Simply put, I want to go into design because there are so many great opportunities for me to do start some amazing new perspectives. There are so many old problems that need new answers, especially these days.  Over the break I want to read Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough & Michael Braungart. The book is “a manifesto calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.”  Not a book about new ways to think but a book that helps you think in new ways. Things are changing and this is an exciting time to be a designer…despite what my uncle may think.