About
What is Design is Blank?
Design is Blank is a project aimed at filling a void in the crowded field of graphic design. By sharing and exposing resources, exploring design-heavy regions, offering interviews and advice, and giving exposure to designers and the design world, Design Is Blank strives to become the comprehensive resource for graphic designers.
Who is behind this project?
Nick Toga and Marshall Rake are both graduates of Art Center College of Design, and principal designers at the Los Angeles-based Bold Collective. In addition to this duo, a community of contributors is being created that will be credited on an individual basis.
Why did you decide to create Design is Blank?
N: Late in my college career, I researched heavily, and designed a manual for graphic design students and entry-level professionals called ‘Graphic Design is Blank.’ Good design studios and designer portfolio websites are sometimes hard to find, students need a guide to getting the best out of a grueling college experience, design in other cities or countries does exist, and designers eventually need a job. The idea was strong, but the format was not fit for an ever-changing profession. After graduating, and with the help of Marshall, I decided to put the resource into the hands of designers, and now, here you are.
What Inspires You?
M: I’m inspired by possibilities. The fact that a single mark on a page can communicate so much, or so little. That great design can help win an election, and that bad design can go unnoticed. I’m also inspired by simplicity, and making the most out of a little. I am really also just inspired by type, European design, outsider art, and old books.
N: I am inspired by designers that are inspired. If anything is good for the industry it is people that care about what they are doing. In addition, I am inspired by intelligent or witty design. Excellent typography and simple (yet powerful) imagery probably goes without saying.
What is good/bad about the design industry?
M:What is great about the design industry, is that it is smaller than anyone thinks. And no good design goes unnoticed.
What is bad, is that no one is taking any chances, and for the most part we are designing the same way we designed 10 years ago. Designers need to lead by example. If we take risks, the rest of the world has no choice but to follow.
N:The designers of the world have the power to affect anything they focus their efforts on. We are, in a way, the voices of almost every other industry. We are able to inspire and teach as well as simply making the world a more aesthetically pleasing place.
I think that the major downsides of the design industry stem from the under-cutters of the business. The untrained Photoshop ‘artists’ and the skilled designers that do not charge enough for their knowledge which ultimately cheapens our craft or make jobs hard to come by.