I have been busy! No time to update anything. Some time in the future I hope to rebuild the whole site and blog and make things more functional. Until then, bon voyage.

I’m moving to a new place in Grand Rapids on Thursday. I look forward to setting up a new environment; I’ll post some pictures when I get settled in.

I have a new job which I’m extremely excited about. Wish me luck!

What is Graphic Design really? There seems to be multiple definitions. As I continue my quest for making an economically-viable and moderately-satisfying career in this industry, I’m starting to think that the broad perceived definition of Graphic Design is flawed. I feel a bit uneasy about the way this industry has evolved and the direction it’s headed. I feel like I’m being pulled further and further away from the things which inspired me down this career path in the beginning.

My current job has sparked this thinking. I’m a design intern for a company specializing in web applications for health care clients. Now, I certainly need to hold back some whining about my current job—It pays decently well, it’s very laid back, and I’m lucky to have it in the awful Michigan economy. However, my concern rests with the definition of the job and my job title. Although I’m referred to as a “Graphic Design Intern” I rarely do any actual designing. 90% of the time when I’m asked to “design” something, I’m actually just recreating someone else’s design. The rest of my time spent at work involves selecting mass quantities of stock images, resizing images, mindless text placement into InDesign documents, and other menial tasks. Not exactly what I thought I was getting into, because the company I work for has perceived the wrong definition of design.

As I look at the design job classifieds I see more and more organizations adapting this flawed definition. The majority of “graphic design” jobs advertised at the moment aren’t much different from my current internship. The vast majority of the jobs I’ve come across involve following strict design guidelines that are already in place. People who work these kinds of jobs, including myself, are not “designing” anything. We carry out the finished product but the actual design is done by someone else. Certainly we use design software, but we are not designers—we are merely computer-laborers. It’s a shame that these two very different positions have both conned the same term, and I certainly hope I’ll be on the “real” side of graphic design one day…

I updated the CSS on my Photoblog so I’ve put up a link to it. This was once the main site for jordanyoung.com so it feels nice to have it back and alive. I’ll post some new photos soon and continue to do so in the future!

jordanyoung.com/photoblog

Now that I’m done with school I might have some time to read once in a while. I recently started Adrian Shaughnessy’s How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul. So far, it’s pretty excellent. He gives a lot of unique opinions on how to deal with clients, finding “good” clients, and how to keep your head in the game. Ideas are generally paired with real-life examples which is making for a less transparent read than some other “how to be a designer” books I’ve come across. I may post a full review upon completion.

I rebuilt the site again as you may have noticed. I feel that the design is a lot stronger and more representative of myself as a designer.

It’s still a work in progress… today I tried to get some jQuery lightboxes going on the work page. Eventually I will have larger images for each project which should give a much better look at the work. I seem to have broken the current script in IE7 so I’ll have to find a better solution. I also intend to add a slide transition for anchored links, and will attempt that next.

Also the bottom menu bar is new. I plan to carry it over to the Blog as well once I figure out how to implement it into WordPress. There will also be a link to my photoblog as well once I finish restyling it.

So I’ve got some more work to do… check back as I learn new things and the site evolves. I’m done with school now so I have some time to work on the site and some other projects, so stay tuned.

The Crofoot Presents:
French Kicks with Mason Proper

Sunday, Apr 26, 2009 8:00 PM EDT (8:00 PM Doors)
at Pike Room @ The Crofoot!

Two great bands! Go check it out! myspace.com/masonproper

The typeface has gotten huge. Spotted these around.

Check it out! My logo was featured at David Pache’s 100 Brands of Interest II.

I bought a new record player:

• Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Professional Direct-Drive Turntable
• Stanton H4-S Headshell
• Shure M97xE High-Performance Magnetic Phono Cartridge

The sound is great. Check it out!