Brendan Murphy

   "Nowhere leads to somewhere" was one of the quotes that Brendan Murphy said that stuck out to me the most. Murphy is a Pittsburg State graduate came back to Pittsburg last week and shared with us some very important and useful information.The information had to do with the graphics industry and how it works. He also gave us some pointers on what we should do while we are still in college to make sure we are ready for the real business would when we graduate.

   Brendan's background was one that I found interesting. A lot of things he told us I have never personally experienced. With that said it made me realize that if he can make it though college than I can too. Brendan and I do have one thing in common when it comes to school and how we approach things. We both always seem to take the long way to something.

   One thing that stood out to me most was what he said about writing. He told us that writing is one of most important parts of his job. Yes he is a designer but, most of the work he does is writing. I have never been a good writer nor have I ever liked writing. But, after him telling us this it has made me realize that I need to start working on my writing skills so that it will not hurt my chances on getting a job in a couple of years.

   I learned a lot about what all goes along with being a graphic designer. I mean I have taken the class but, it was one of those things that you do not realize how much work goes along with it. He told us that for just one design he comes up with about 3,000 sketches. I could not believe it. They do all those sketches just to be able to come up with one final design because you never want to introduce something until you know it is going to be successful.  Another thing that he said is that when it comes to dealing with logos it is like dealing with politics. Just like how politics are consistently changing so is world of graphics and what people are looking for. Designing is a constant continuation because the world is always changing. Like I mentioned earlier the success of a logo is very important.  The way that his company measures success is they ask their customers how they will be measuring it. I like the way they do that. It makes sure that both the client and the business are on the same page and helps the business come up with an excellent design.

   Brendan's presentation was one that really opened my eyes. It opened my eyes to how important writing is and how much work actually goes into designing logos. The designing process is not as easy as it seems at times.  With some logos and designs there come risk of total dissatisfaction and others are very successful and appreciated.