Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
“I started as a visual designer,” Mohr says. “I'm good at making something visually de-
sirable and aesthetically pleasing.” Mohr's visual designs came at a time when photography
was becoming increasing digital. Digital cameras would soon be commonplace, and soft-
ware designers were coming up with early versions of Photoshop, and other image-based
programs. “Once we had animation, I went from visual design to 3-D and things that could
move. Eventually I ended up on the interactive side,” he says. That put him squarely in
the path of the user. If tech-challenged consumers were going to use his designs, Mohr had
to understand these new users. “As a designer, I must understand needs and problems,”
explains Mohr. “In order to make something useable I must put myself in someone else's
shoes.”
Growing up in a family where the art-commerce question was a constant presence,
Mohr already had some understanding of the link between artistic products and commercial
requirements. He'd seen the two meet, but what happens when the designer—whose ap-
proach has always been purely artistic—is confronted with users who demand easy func-
tions, but don't care much about inspired creations and forms? How does a designer pre-
serve his inner truth and artistic identity in this process?
Though artistic identity is an extension of individual identity, they're not the same
thing. The creation is a representation of the artist. It reflects the artist's thoughts, hopes,
frustrations and emotions. It expresses something unique and personal. The fit between this
and consumer needs is seldom perfect. On more than one occasion, I've been asked to al-
ter aspects of a product because it didn't align with a client's business strategy. I've had to
adapt designs to fit user expectations about image, operation and function. At times, this
affected me emotionally. I felt that any change in the product was a change in my vision,
and my vision was my truth—in other words, my self.
Inside me, a conflict was brewing between my singular vision of truth and our common
social reality. As I came to recognize that, I also found that my perspective is not in a fixed
place—it evolves daily, changing with whatever new things I learn. This new knowledge
inevitably finds its way into the products I design. Ultimately, these designs spring from
my artistic vision, but the tweaks and details come from what I learn in daily life.
During our conversation, I noticed that Mohr tended to put his commercial work on
one side, and his personal artistic work on the other, but this is more a case of categoriz-
ing projects, than building a wall between them. The two sides do conflict—sometimes to
the detriment of artistic concerns—but he balances that against some surprising benefits.
“I want to do more art projects,” Mohr reveals, “but when I do my own work, instead of
enjoying the passion and freedom of art, I find myself asking: why? The commercial side
