The Official Answers to the Pre-Trip Questions, According to Daniel

What are your expectations for the trip and design appointments?

I expect to be blown away by the sheer amount of design surrounding me at every single moment of this trip. Haha. I see this trip as an exploration of design. We'll be exploring design that has already been created (in museums and the surrounding areas). And we'll be exploring how different people in various companies create design. I don't think this trip will give me a better idea of what lies in store for me in the future (although I still hope it does), but at least I'll be more exposed to different things and at least know what I like and don't like.

What company or companies are you most excited to visit?

I'm excited to visit Landor, Siegel+Gale, and Courtney & Co. I think their design styles and approaches to fixing problems are most similar to my own. Plus, I'm really into branding and like some of the work that they've done.

How do your interests or skills fit with the firms that we are visiting?

They are design companies and I design things too. The three companies above are safe for me, because their designs are similar to mine (better than mine too, of course). I'm excited to see other styles of design, that will force me to think in new ways. Martha Stewart is probably not somewhere that I would like to end up, but I can definitely respect the products that they produce. It's obvious that they've worked hard and have developed quite a brand. CBS News is also another place I wouldn't want, but it'll be really cool to see their process in developing graphics under deadline.

How would you define “West Coast” design? How does it defer from “East Coast” design?

This is a big reason why I'm on this trip. As a Communication Design minor who's never taken any art classes (yay!), I've begun to realize my need to have a richer background (bummer) in order to push my limitations as a designer. I don't really know a difference between the two coasts. But generally, I would say that West Coast design is looser than East Coast design. I see East Coast companies developing the corporate branding for companies while West Coast companies develop the lifestyle branding that consumers really want. I'm probably wrong on this. Ironic, especially since I was born and raised in Maryland, huh?