Graphic Engineer: What I do for a Living

While at one of my first Emerge Luncheons (which I love and would highly recommend) I sat with a lot of people I had never met.  There was a particularly popular speaker, and the place was packed.  As with any professional small talk we asked each what the other did for a living.  I was talking to a young lady from Procter and Gamble (an excellent company & corporate citizen).  I asked what she did, and she replied, "I'm a chemical engineer at P&G.  What do you do?"  I told her that I was a graphic designer to which she said, "I was thinking about being a graphic designer."  I found that ironic because, as I commented, "I considered being a chemical engineer for a while."

She looked at me like I had just insulted her mother.  She didn't say anything to me the rest of the meeting, but shot me glares that screamed, "A simply artsy person like you could never do what I do."  Perhaps there are engineers and designers alike who will be insulted by this statement, but I'm a pretty dicey that way.  Designers and engineers are more alike than you may think.

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Play by the Rules

In our proanarchy society we (and especially we designers) tend to view rules as a collective stifler to our creativity and a hindrance to the overall process.  We think that surly things would be better, easier or more fun if they were done outside the boundaries of some arbitrator handing down of irrational and irrelevant edicts.  Surely we know best.  We view rules as though their sole purpose is to make life, the game or the product worse.  Most of the time that's not a reflection of reality.  Most of the time the rules can (or at least are meant to) make things better.  When it comes to life or games or Search Engine Optimization, we are often better off playing by the rules.

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