Dorreen Petersen Davis, MS Ed. Media Design & Technology
Graphic Designer • Art Director • Instructional Design • Project Management
My first responsibility as a designer is to be a strategist. My strategy is to determine what the client wants to say about their product/service, understand their target audience, and choose the best touchpoints to reach that audience. Next is to take that information and integrate the best options of design, touchpoints, and materials, in order to get that message out. A good designer also has to be an accountant, as budgets are sometimes less than what we, as designers, would like to spend. We have to determine how to give the client the upscale look on a less expensive budget.
I believe a designer should understand all facets of the business. In order to achieve the desired outcome, you must successfully communicate with the illustrator, the photographer, the printer or any other vendors to achieve your desired concept. It is imperative to know how a printer will layout and print the job on the press, what press they will use, and the constraints of offset, rotogravure, digital or large format printing. Their success in getting what you desire, in turn, makes you successful in giving your client what they want. This has been my mission for over 30 years.
Finally, it is vital that a designer stay up with technology, especially in the design arena. As a lifelong learner I pride myself on doing this. Through teaching future designers, I’ve found it exciting to get them to think how to use technology along with more traditional touch points to solve their design problems. This has enhanced my ability to accept the challenge of motivating myself and others to reach their potential.
My philosophy is to be professional, while having fun and do what I am passionate about.