Apr
17
Did I inspire David Airey?
When I took a look at my portfolio and wrote about what I was going for, I never thought David Airey, one of the most important and influential brand designers of today, would be inspired by me! He must have somehow found my relatively obscure portfolio, loved it, and started on a new design.
In all seriousness, I love Mr. Airey’s new design for the same reason I loved the black and white designs I mentioned in my post on my own portfolio. His motive to move toward a design focused on simplicity not only in its colors, but also its layout, seems similar to mine. In his blog post, Experimenting with a New Portfolio Design, Airey said “the goal of my design is to place emphasis on the portfolio work.” He achieves this because the elements surrounding his work are much more subtle as a result of their simplicity, and this forces his work to the top of the visual hierarchy.
As a young designer and developer living in a world full of out-of-touch agencies, it feels great to have this sort of confirmation that at least I have a finger on the pulse of contemporary design. Keeping up with a field that evolves as quickly as new media does can be an uphill battle. So when one of the most important people in my field makes a huge move that even slightly parallels mine, it’s a nice reassurance.
PS – If David Airey or any of his fans DO somehow find my blog, please know that I am humbled by your even reading this and I have only the utmost respect for Mr. Airey’s work. The title was just too good to not use!
PSS – By the time I wrote this, it had been about a month since the preview of Mr. Airey’s “new” design.
