A while ago I read a post at Noisey Decent Graphics called The Design Disease and I am sorry to say I have caught it. The article basically discusses how if you are a designer you notice things that non designers just wouldn’t.
I realised I had a serious dose of design disease when I first got to the opticians to pick up my glasses and was ushered to a chair in the waiting room. What an awful chair, one of those standard mid blue squarish cushioned ones with squared off legs and no style whatsoever, still I only had to sit on half of it as there was a rather large lady sitting next to me. Next there was a stand of designer glasses which was plonked about a metre in front of my chair, not in a buy me way, but as an afterthought as there there was no where left to put it.
Built around the counter was a point of sale unit with shelving and an eliptical structure holding contact lense boxes. I found myself working out how I could create outlines in illustrator, extrude them in strata 3D and build a 3D model of the unit (how sad).
For supposedly designer glasses, the cases I got were styled like a brick. What is going on with those free cases they give you, would it really cost anymore to produce cases that were aestheticaly pleasing?
Anyway my new glasses are ok, well they will be when I get used to them, and I really liked the paper carier bag 
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6 Comments
Hahaha, Tara, I think ALL of us fall prey to that. I’m always looking at magazine ads and assessing the Photoshop work (“Bah, that was a lousy color change!” or “He doesn’t really have his head in that lion’s mouth, look at the lighting! It’s all wrong!”).
Oh wow I guess I am busted I do the same thing when I go anywhere and look at text and how it is formatted on toys and packaging. I am thinking I would have added a drop shadow to make it more 3D or I would have given it more of a textured look or I have even gotten to the point I can pick out sometimes even the font face type if I have seen a particular type used often enough.
I also relate to the lighting thing some things I look at and think it could be darker or lighter or it could have a different illumination effect all the way around.
Tara, I’m going to pass this posting onto my Optician husband (we call them Optometrists in Australia but it’s the same profession). I think he will wholeheartedly agree with you!
I read that post at Noisy Decent Graphics too.
Hopefully Tracey’s husband can start a movement in better designed free cases for glasses.
Actually the last pair of glasses I purchased (just last year) by ProDesign Intl came with a real cool case. I was actually more impressed with the case design then the glasses themselves.
As far as the design disease – it happens. I think graphic designers will be forever cursed with trying to mentally kern the type on roadside signs.
Heh-heh, I think I was born with it. My wife rolls her eyes all the time.