The Advertiser and The Graphic Designer

It seems graphic designers share more similarities than differences with advertisers. While the ultimate goal of the designer is a little different from that of the advertiser, the processes and rules of their respective crafts are so intertwined that one may be indistinguishable from the other.

In the world of the advertiser they typically work for a client that has a product to sell and their goal is to create an effective, creative piece of art that functions to sell that product. On the other hand a designer may create a piece of art for any number of different reasons. It could be for a cause, for fun, or just like the advertiser, for a client. Those are about the greatest differences between the two occupations. Basically, the big picture for the advertiser is making money whereas the graphic designer can have an array of different reasons or functions for their art. Other than that they are creating artwork and do their best to make it compelling and more creative than the next.

Just like graphic designers, advertisers have different methods to creating new artwork that sells their products the best. The Rosser Reeves and David Ogilvy relationship/rivalry is an interesting example of this as Rosser Reeves perfected the "hard-sell" approach to advertising. This approach picks out a product's best selling point and drives that point home over and over. Then, equally successful, David Ogilvy mastered  the "soft-sell" approach, which focuses on creating a good brand image. Though each method was different, they both shared much success and a mutual respect for one another.

Graphic designers also have many different methods of creating their art from one designer to the next. Just like advertisers they have a goal to create something original and they inspire each other to keep creating original and more creative works. What is most interesting though, is the different reasons they create different art works. I really like Milton Glaser's perspective on the graphic design community in that many of the designers create images for social causes and their talents are used to spread good ideas through their visual aids.

Graphic designers and advertisers may differ on their motivations but they all share the same tools to create original works meant stimulate the minds of their audiences.