Technology in design Options

[Joanne]

(I wasn't sure if I should shove this topic in technology or debate... I guess it kind of fits into both. If you disagree, just move it wherever)

I just read an article by graphic designer Michael Bierut in the New York Times called "Drawing Board to the Desktop: A Designer’s Path". In the article, he talks about how the world of design has changed since the use of computers:

Design work that would have taken me a week in 1980 can now be done on a personal computer in less than an hour. Cutting and pasting, when needed, is done in the basement, often by interns. I get the impression that this kind of work, to which I once applied myself with the pride of a master chef, is now viewed as a chore like dishwashing.

THE technology we have at our disposal is dazzling, and our efficiency is such that clients expect fast solutions and nearly instantaneous updates. We are proud to deliver them. Still, I wonder if we haven’t lost something in the process: the deliberation that comes with a slower pace, the attention to detail required when mistakes can’t be undone with the click of a mouse.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/jobs/08pre.html?_r=1

So what are your thoughts and feelings towards this? Do you think the use of computers and other technology have taken the 'true beauty' out of design?

[brooklyneast05]

i agree with thomas. it's more impressive to me to see traditional art than it is to see graphic art. it's also more rewarding to me to do traditional art. people want to put it on the same level, but as someone who is studying both...eh, it's pretty hard to justify it to me. i don't think they can even be compared really or even should be. it definitely takes skill to make art on the computer, but at the same time think of all the stuff that is already done for you. for example, coloring, if you have to create the colors yourself then you're already talking about something way harder to do than just picking a color from a swatch pallet. almost every aspect of art on the computer is a lot easier.