What makes a great designer? Perhaps a motto we can all learn from, and one that Alian Design tries to practice, has been accurately proposed down by Milton Glacer:

WHAT THE DESIGNER OUGHT TO BE

"Let the designer be bold in all sure things, and fearful in dangerous things; let him avoid all faulty treatments and practices. He ought to be gracious to the client, considerate to his associates, cautious in his prognostications. Let him be modest, dignified, gentle, pitiful, and merciful; not covetous nor an extortionist of money; but rather let his reward be according to his work, to the means of the client, to the quality of the issue, and to his own dignity."

Too often we find ourselves debating how to conduct ourselves in this industry that challenges our beliefs, ideas and ideals about everything we have learned. Revolutionary designer Bruce Mau gives us his self-proclaimed "Incomplete Manifesto" for his company:

http://www.brucemaudesign.com/manifesto.html

It's words like this that guide budding studios like ours and make decisions clear and less challenging. It is also principles like this that have been presented by the best that give hope in steering the world in the right direction when it comes to visual communication. So much has been produced in this short century, but little gives hope for a future that is less concerned with consumption and more focused on sustainability of the visual language.

We have a power. That power is to guide the minds (our own included) towards a deeper understanding of the human experience. An experience that should propagate compassion, tolerance, collaboration and a spirit of understanding for what makes us unified as a species... with other species and the world around us. If our work does not do that we end up in a sure state of dissatisfaction—a dissatisfaction that is like a nasty virus.

More words of wisdom can be found on Milton's site: http://miltonglaser.com/pages/milton/mg_index.html

It takes a lifetime to come to your own genuine conclusions about how to live, work and play in this life. In the meantime, we'll take advice from the best.

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