An Approach to Graphic Design That Doesn't Stink | Episode 110 | Elliott Earls

[@Spudcore]

One of the main reasons that I enjoy watching your videos is the lack of artifice. You leave in flubbed lines, you don't go out of your way to make yourself look super slick, it's rough and rugged, and real.

[@petecruise2157]

I enjoy learning from you and have no problem with the videos being less polished

[@teknyu]

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN KZbinR! THANK YOU

[@kimilsung7468]

I don't really do anything related to graphic design but i appreciate these videos quite a bit. it's always nice to see how people in other disciplines think about their crafts

[@connecting_flight]

Your videos are unusually deep, informative and useful compared to a lot of other contemp. content surrounding visual arts. Very special! Was super happy to see a new one from you. Thank you!

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks for the kind words

[@judahi8206]

i really like the organic approach. it's those small little details that ironically catch my attention at times.

[@nisdeist]

As an undergrad, learning from your videos has been invaluable. It is rare to receive such insight from a professor. Thank you Elliot, I hope you keep at it.

[@StudioPractice1]

You're very welcome!

[@tristanheelys24]

I get pretty excited for every video you put up here. The process of making video companions to pieces that are currently being worked on has quickly become a part of the job of a working artist for better or worse. I totally get the feeling that that process feels like a lot of effort for little payoff, but believe it is incredibly valuable at connecting to and relaying artistic knowledge, second only to critiques

[@StudioPractice1]

I think you're right when you say its become a part of the job. I agree with you.

[@dajambo1]

Took a break from watching this channel and was thrilled coming back to find new stuff with a laid back tone. During the break I've been making some much more loose graphic design (leaning towards art now) and I now realize that previously watching your vids really helped me break from what I was taught in my traditional program, and especially my corporate gigs. Cheers man enjoying the vids!

[@StudioPractice1]

Right on!

[@liamobrien6044]

Thanks for the inspiration! I don’t know much about graphic design but how you explain it and the work is very inspiring to my creative work in music and thinking about aesthetics in general!

[@StudioPractice1]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@michaelpaulfrancis]

Love that you're making your videos more organic. It's refreshing to see. Hope to see more!

[@StudioPractice1]

Thank you! Will do!

[@makejump]

I've always really enjoyed your videos. Especially when you dive deeper into what's happening both inside and outside 'the frame'.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks for watching!

[@reidhendrick2839]

Figuring out how to capture a loose graffiti style digitally and this video gave me a lot of food for thought to reflect on! thx man!

[@icarumba5]

I like getting a perspective from a working artist that allows my brains cells to rub up against and create spark! I love that your sharing this and I appreciate the thoughts and helpfulness you present here.

[@horbagger19]

These discussions always get the almonds activated. Your perspective and self-analysis is refreshing to watch on a regular basis, and helps me consider new angles concerning my own process as you examine yours. Hopefully that's motivation for continuing the channel. Working can sometimes feel like operating in a critical vacuum, so as we rocket towards old age, we're all collectively avoiding crippling brain plasticity here.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks! The vacuum (to my mind) is the killer of work. Share work with people = more work.

[@gvisioned]

I sincerely appreciate your work on this channel, thank you for sharing.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@dlongmore]

Elliott 👋 Discovered you and this channel from a student in our local video game community - he's making small, arty stuff, finding his style and lifting inspiration from your work - which is a long way of saying this is only the second video of yours I've watched. Perfectly watchable, I enjoy that you're a human being, and the rough edges lend themselves to that. Excited to have found you and to see that you have many episodes waiting for me to watch. Thanks for your work and for taking the time to share your process and perspectives.

[@StudioPractice1]

Yo Dean. 🙏

[@nthrnlghts]

I really enjoy hearing your thoughts and techniques

[@jimmyjamesluciano]

here's the comment you requested... every time one of your videos come up it's like an impulse to have to watch. sometimes i feel like i have no idea what you're talking about. maybe even many times. sometimes i zone out and just put your videos on in my headphones while i'm at work doing mindless factory tasks hoping that i learn something that gets me motivated to get back to doing art and design. but really, what i've come to realize is it's entertainment for me that isn't like other entertainment where i feel like my brain is getting mushy. i'm not the kind of guy that pays for patreons because my adhd gets me forgetting about auto payments but would love to donate if there is a venmo or something. thanks buddy, look forward to your next epi

[@hylawillis8572]

I'm into the experimental camerawork/various lenses & views. Good mix of explaining & showing.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks. Spherical video

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks! wondered wether it was going to be distracting

[@MammothInSpace]

the videos are great and i always look forward to 'em

[@bizarro20daves]

I always dig your videos. You do you man

[@wraymanning]

thanks for a new one elliot!! your videos alway help me think about my practice in new and compelling ways ^^

[@wraymanning]

i cant think of a question but ill work on it lol

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks. The questions and conversation etc. are really the only thing that makes mainly the videos rewarding

[@michaelmarsh4643]

Hey man, for what it's worth, I am inspired and intrigued by your work and videos. I'm a writer and not even a graphic artist but I love art and I'd like to say that what you do is appreciated.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks for taking the time to say kind things.

[@Pavel_TND]

always nice 2 have u back brotha

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks

[@infinitedestiny6328]

Enjoyable, thank you.

[@chitra1980gk]

Just watched this with my students today. Paused to look up Metonym :) Watching your process and well-articulated thoughts about constructing the image was so insightful to this super new/young group of students. Thanks!!

[@antoinedoinel153]

Appreciate the video and this makes me want to go watch the old ones again. As a sculptor I can’t make any thing in one session. Anything of interest comes from attacking and reworking things I’d given up on

[@StudioPractice1]

Right on. working back into old work can be super productive

[@hyunahoh2708]

It is so very fresh to see this inspiring process video, when every single day all the "Inspo" I get on instagram is highly digital work. I first found your channel while "shopping" for grad schools, (Cranbrook one of them, didn't apply tho) and then I shared that "How to get into MFA" video a lot with potential MFA students. Thank you so much for producing awesome videos! It is an honor to hear your insights for free on KZbin.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks for taking the time to write. I'm glad the video helped you

[@ciboxcibox222]

My man really be slappin jpegs ontop of each other and reinventing the wheel jk I get the same feeling from 3d work, kinda a resonance in dissonance type of thing. "Human creativity comes from trying to fit things together that don't" Good shit, I feel that way with my best stuff. Anyway enjoy your stuff on how you approach things fundamentally even if I don't ressonate with art school jargon stuff. Could try doing more convos with art friends if you can grab them, that Kanye one was pretty insightful. Peace

[@StudioPractice1]

Ha! Yea. “That’s what happens when jpegs start slappin”

[@fredosixmilly4396]

ill take the raw cut, quick and unedited if i can get more videos where you show your thought process

[@fredosixmilly4396]

but whats in it for you? i suppose you are looking for a dialogue? Well the way you translated a "theory" (gestalt) into a piece of art made me think about the possibilty of doing the same with other ideas or theories. Wonder what else is possible down that line of thinking.....idk, your stuff is just all very thought provoking and gives me new ideas. Wish there were more guys like you out there, please keep producing.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks. I hate to sound as if everything is transactional with me. But I found that my KZbin channel felt like making work in a vacuum. In order to make more videos I have to solve that problem.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks for taking the time to write. I have a few more videos nearly done. I'm going to work on trying to make the videos more open to dialog. maybe that will help address the problem.

[@fredosixmilly4396]

@@StudioPractice1 i mean even thats cool to me, trying to see how you solve that problem. But in the meantime I will keep buying your prints.

[@justin-ov4ng]

I don't mind the raw cut, maybe it's more Baroque with the gritty realism? Anyway, I'm interested in your perspective of combining image not just with, but onto an object.

[@skwirl828]

liked this style of video a lot. liked the Econ vid too. just watched. we are currently in the upping the curb appeal stage of our place right now.

[@StudioPractice1]

Yea man ... stay in the property for 4 or 5 years tuning it up then flip it using Zillow and level up

[@skwirl828]

@@StudioPractice1 thats the plan. basement has a separate rental unit that we'll rent out once the Reno upstairs is done. There's even a separate small cabin/shack I'll either AirBNB or maybe turn into small studio space.

[@StudioPractice1]

Dude. That’s the WHIP. Get on that boi. Sacrifice now to set you and the family up for the long term!!!❤️ 🔥

[@katherinesullivan_neat]

“There is a productive conceptual and formal friction between the two pieces being overlayed.” I guess it definitely does feel productive and new, but from there I struggle to take that thread somewhere. Maybe I am complicating it too much?

[@StudioPractice1]

Hmm. That’s fair. When you free associate looking at the work what are the polysyllabic words that come to mind? How would you describe the work?

[@katherinesullivan_neat]

@@StudioPractice1 1.”unique/unprecedented” - I don’t think I have seen anyone do this before. 2.”simulative” - we can experience 3-D today with different technology but the work doesn’t have that technology. (Not that that’s bad.) I believe the work could be productive conceptually but it would need to be partnered with something else (art/experience) to make it conceptually productive which is what I guess graphic design is? 😅 3. “archival” it has an archival quality but that depends on if I am interpreting the work at first glance or after having heard your explanation. Are these pieces more like formal experiments that could have conceptual applications? Sorry my words don’t have many syllables. But I wanted to say what I really thought even though I could have just hit a rut. I also hope nothing I wrote offended you. I’m not very familiar with your work or the processes. So I’m not aiming to offend.

[@heytimgreen]

Thank you. This was very interesting

[@StudioPractice1]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@evanreed3718]

This isn’t really related to the video, but: I was wondering what a good intro to doing graphic design would be, meaning like books, articles, etc. Have watched your stuff here for awhile and have had ideas for things you could potentially do with graphic design but don’t know any of the basics and am so outside of it that I don’t even really know how to think of image composition in this context And to you’re question at the end of the vid: unpolished is a good vibe I think, but what do I know haha. I’ll be watching regardless

[@brandongorin7978]

Hello! It is nice to see you. It is hard to make things on the internet the are true and honest and get grabbed by the algorithm. You make work that is worth thinking about. If you are starting a conversation with your past self what is the point of ignoring the style you were working in? Also did you find anything in your old work you weren’t expecting?

[@ieatkarate]

I don't really hear the term "experimental graphic design" used much in design today. I think it's an important area of design. Besides you, who else is talking about it? Are there any places I should be paying attention to?

[@StudioPractice1]

Great question. Almost everyone I know is doing some form of. It. Most people don’t use the word. The studio here at Cranbrook is filled with it. I’ll post more to this thread with more thoughts on it soon

[@StudioPractice1]

I don't really think anyone is actually talking about it. I also think there are a BUNCH of practitioners of the dark art of experimental graphic design but many of these people frame their work as contemporary art for both critical and market reasons. They may not like that I put them into this group but people like Cleon Peterson, Faile, Cody Hudson, Keetra Dixon, Matt Walsh (Doctor Kobra) were/are all trained as hard core graphic designers and much of their work can be easily understood as experimental graphic design.

[@ieatkarate]

@@StudioPractice1 Agreed. I think that experimental graphic design is less about output and more about process. I've always worked in a particular way that seems intuitive to me, but it seems very foreign to most designers.

[@ПавелБулгаков-н5б]

Thank you for your work, you taught me very valuable things. I think you should film whenever you feel like it and whatever you want, maybe something more experimental and avant-garde stuff outside of your regular work. It would also be nice to see more work/artist analysis, especially on the ones you consider great.

[@StudioPractice1]

Thanks! I'll make a video about this subject soon

[@andeecollard]

The effort is always worth it! Really interesting concept. Are you doing any writing around this?

[@StudioPractice1]

Good suggestion

[@StudioPractice1]

I’m thinking about it

[@tynancollins2736]

So good

[@mingusjoe496]

Hey Elliott, lately I've been re-watching your old videos as I've just begun an undergraduate degree in communication design. I have to admit a lot of your thoughts go over my head, but I appreciate your work, as well as the knowledge you share in your videos. Apologies if these questions seem juvenile but here are some thoughts I’ve been looking for in your videos. As you’ve mentioned in this video: Interesting work comes from metonym, but my lecturers are usually concerned with the audience. By making work easier for my audience to unpack, am I dumbing my work down? Or is it a case that my ideas need refinement? Your work seems to sit between the line of graphic design and art, which I’m very much interested in. But what space does conceptual experimental design hold in graphic design today? Where is the line drawn between conceptual graphic design and art? Can or should graphic design be treated the same way as one approaches “fine” art? I worry graphic design is leading me towards a path of advertisement.

[@StudioPractice1]

Yo... you raise a number of VERY IMPORTANT questions. Believe it or not, I too am extremely interested in audience. Specifically wether I am communicating effectively in my videos. I dont want to make to much out of this (because it makes me look like a douche bag who believes I'm too smart), but one of the major issues that I've had to deal with in this KZbin channel is code switching. More specifically what speech codes to use in he videos. literally what vocabulary to use. I have found that I strive to be dead clear in what I'm saying. To my mind this demands precious of language, so I find myself sifting through my lexicon to find the precise language to describe the idea at play. Counter intuitively, this seems to make the videos HARDER to understand for most viewers. I've had to learn to try to speak very directly and to select vocabulary that is common, or a lose most viewers. This is at odds with the idea that language works based upon nuance and precision. As to your broader second question. Regarding design and Art. I see very little distinction between design and art at the fundamental level. Having said that, I'm not working at a corporate marketing agency. I'm super interested in how design process, methods and history overlaps making "cognitive cultural objects."

[@mingusjoe496]

As another viewer pointed out, there is an unusual depth to your videos. Your videos are built on strong arguments that are well developed and I can see the difficulty in trying to keep nuance whilst using everyday language as a means to communicate effectively to a wider audience. I get value out of both, the depth you go into in some videos and the directness in episode 21 for example, on making a formalist Avant Garde design/ art object. Not to say you aren't always being direct, but some of these videos seem to be easier for me to understand than others(the contradictory use of everyday vocabulary and nuance you brought up). Regardless, keep up the good work!

[@Dushygushy22]

10:10 Do you think there's a bit if time traveling between the first system; the second system; the part of you today that puts it all together; and the connection, the journey, the message that oscillates back and for the between them? Oh, I just saw the end! I just came across this channel last week while looking into Cranbrook, I don't remember now. The differences in your videos I don't notice at all. It all has the same spirit. I appreciate it and find it inspiring, this thing that your doing. Something about this collecting footage, using these tools to journal thought processes, and sharing it seems very appropriate to something happening today. Or maybe it's just me! It reminds me of something... either way, I like it! It's helping me develop some language for things that I'm developing within in myself as well as some direction. So thank you!

[@TheDudeway]

Yeah I love this content

[@zacharykeith4459]

do a video about globohomo art style and why corporations like google and Kroger are currently choosing to go with that look

[@manhogbear1086]

thanks for your content! for me quantity is better than quality. ... no that's not what i mean... maybe content is better than production quality... you're very interesting and i have found lots of math/science/history academic lectures that are great in being educational and thought provoking but yours is the first art channel i've found.. anyway THANKS for spending some of your time on us. some day AI will be able to make a virtual you. the more content you make the more accurate it will be!!!

[@StudioPractice1]

Then I can keep making shit with zero effort LOLZ (thanks for the positive feedback - if you can - watch a few more of my videos and all the bullshit “comment etc” it’ll help my channel.

[@BalthasarCarduelis]

A slick video production may not be worth the effort of a wise old professor. But it might be worth the effort of a wide-eyed young research-assistant.

[@fredosixmilly4396]

king

[@arthurvandalay4733]

The king returns. Can I send you my art?

[@StudioPractice1]

Yes you can... you have my email? Elliott. earls at G mail dot com

[@josiahpohl1814]

Kind of a gimmick, but something I am sure would get views is reviewing some of Sam Hyde's graphics that he puts into the transitions between his sketches. He never really talks about them in a technical way and I would enjoy hearing you break them down into the underlying design concepts.

[@StudioPractice1]

It’s a great suggestion. I’m a bit shy of trying to capitalize off (clout chase/dick ride) Sam’s fame. When I did my first Sam video people were on my ass about trying to bite him. I was like “huh, what?”

[@josiahpohl1814]

@@StudioPractice1 understandable but it is how I found your channel and I’ve enjoyed checking out the other stuff. Using his stuff as a jumping point for talking about design principles generally would be the pipeline into your more general content.

[@myt9125]

People like loose videos with mistakes, it humanizes the content like swear words and minor self-effacement. You don't need me to tell you that but it may help free up some time taken by the refinement process to do things in one go and just point out mistakes as they come. As well, your emphasis on intention and process subconsciously mutes out any perceived sloppiness by the viewer.

[@dst8248]

Fuck feedback, people are here because of you content. Content that you have produced and curated. As soon as you fall in the rabbit hole of fielding feedback the "soul" that your audience came for is diluted and can be easily lost. If you want to try something new or different just do it, it all doesn't have to be hits. Fuck what you heard like a bitch in her ear, keep doing what you're doing.

[@StudioPractice1]

I hear you. It's more about the value proposition. I mean I hate to see so real but the videos provide, no opportunity, no money, no feedback and no juice. (I'm not referring to my studio work. the work in my studio. that work is bangin'). I'm saying that I couldn't figure out why I was losing any motivation to make more videos, and it was/is because (generally) I make them and wonder... hmm, no add dollars, no opportunites, no feedback etc... why do this? Look I sound like a spoiled asshole here. I get it. I shouldn't have said anything about it. Its just the reality of small KZbin

[@dst8248]

@@StudioPractice1 when I get there this fall I got you. - Das