09.26.10 - Why I’m sitting in photography class

Life’s gotten a bit flat. A bit 2D. I’ve been working in the medium of graphic and interactive design for nearly 10 years now. (Wow, has it really been that long?) While I continue to practice, enjoy and learn the art of designing beautiful and people happy software experiences both as my primary passion and as part of my professional career, I feel the medium has made me a bit too narrow focused. At least creatively.

I live, think and breath user interfaces and tunnel vision is kicking in.

The key to great design ideas is getting inspiration from the unexpected. So it’s time to get out of the “house” and explore something new, something different - a new creative medium. A new way to speak. Freshen up and learn a different visual language. Time to learn French as they say.

And that language is pictures and moving pictures.

I’ve always had deep respect for the people who tell stories through pictures both still and in motion. My Vimeo account is chalked full of favorites, must see videos and my Google Reader is filled with blogs from amazing people doing inspiring work.

This is something I’ve always wanted to play around with. Something I’ve always wanted to explore, but project after project, deadline after deadline, I’ve always procrastinated.

This all changed when I went to go see Scott Pilgram vs the World. My jaws dropped, brain swelled up with ideas and I’ve never been more inspired. The visuals were breadth taking and it really struck me how creative and visual this medium can be. It’s an amazing display of technical know-how, story telling and visual design. I wanted to learn more and start seeing I can start getting the ideas in my head out and into this medium.

Going a bit deeper I’ve found interestingly that the practice and process of user experience design is actually quite similar. Designing engaging user interfaces is as much about design and usability as it is about telling a story. It’s about creating memorable subtle experiences that help users complete a story and arrive at a conclusion - a complete task. It’s about creating memorable emotions while taking users on a journey - connecting users to the story, the brand, the product and the task.

Just as in photography and movies, you follow very similar exercises to help you get what’s in your head out. You start with a story (scenario), sketch out storyboard designs (wireframing), production (design and coding) and finishing (user testing and launch).

Off we go. New language, new tools and a twist on a new way of “speaking”. The digital camera as a pencil. It’s a ground zero effort. I’ve have no experience working with this medium any significant way. Google and Amazon will come in handy.

I'm ready to learn the basic. As anyone will tell you, it’s all about the idea, but for me I’ve always felt it was also equally about the tools. If you are not proficient enough with the tools, you will not be able to get your ideas transferred from your head to the medium in any accurate fashion. It needs to be natural and not a hindrance. Knowing the tools is half the battle.

So here I am, sitting in a photography class with my newly purchased camera from Craiglist and feeling like a kid in school. Notebook opened, pencils sharpened and transformed into a information sponge not just for class, but on the Internet and hopefully in person.

Couple of things that started it all.

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