Design Nerdery

I think Patton Oswalt said it best. “My geekiness is getting in the way of my nerdiness.” I notice it all day long. The nerdy little things that get in the way of everything. I know I cause myself 90% more headaches than the average joe with my design nerdery. If I could just let some things go… But then I don’t think I’d ever design or even notice anything exciting. I guess a few examples are in order though.

I can’t walk down the street without playing “Spot the Helvetica.” Every single billboard, every single sign, every single store front. A constant process of elimination. “Ah, serifs. Not Helvetica.” “Ah, the capital R isn’t quite right.” “Ehhh.. Comic Sans… Where’s my gun?”

Actually, I don’t get nearly as mad at Comic Sans as I used to. It’s almost like being a music buff and getting angry at teeny bopper music. It’s just not worth the effort… But I do get constantly frustrated with Arial though. Like the Hot Topic kid who adamantly believes he has great taste in music but is constantly off. Seeing the capital R of Arial is a never-ending taunt that will always anger me. And of course it’s always more angering that no one else around seems to understand why this is so wrong. This is half the reason I find Powerpoint presentations painful.

I even caught myself designing a new wallpaper for the SCAD computers today, when I was trying to do a different assignment entirely. But what else can you do when you see drop shadows and Impact so abused? This is supposed to be a design school! It’s in the name!

I try to embrace it though. It obviously has it’s benefits. But I wish I could get through a design related rant without watching a friend’s eyes slowly glaze over.