4 answers
Evan
Student
Exeter, New Hampshire
3
Questions
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Do clients in the arts allow for artistic liberties to be taken?
In art classes I’m currently in, teacher allow us to take artistic liberties, but claim that graphic design clients won’t let us do that. Is that necessarily true? #art #graphic-design #design #fine-art
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4 answers
Marc Gamble
Instructional designer
5
Answers
Knoxville, Tennessee
Updated
Marc’s Answer
I am a part-time photographer but have also done some commission work in drawing and painting. I would say yes, most clients will make space for artistic liberties within a pre-defined set of boundaries.
If your client wants and Italian fresco but you decide to take artistic liberties and paint the scene on the wall in graffiti style, you probably won't be paid.
You should get a clear understanding of what the client wants and agree on the parameters, preferably in writing, and then if you are inspired to do something different - go back to the client and renegotiate the scope of the work.
If your client wants and Italian fresco but you decide to take artistic liberties and paint the scene on the wall in graffiti style, you probably won't be paid.
You should get a clear understanding of what the client wants and agree on the parameters, preferably in writing, and then if you are inspired to do something different - go back to the client and renegotiate the scope of the work.
James Constantine Frangos
Consultant Dietitian & Software Developer since 1972 => Nutrition Education => Health & Longevity => Self-Actualization.
6342
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Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Updated
James Constantine’s Answer
Hi Evan!
Do Patrons in the Artistic Realm Permit Artistic Freedom?
Decoding Artistic Freedom
Artistic freedom is the liberty an artist enjoys to convey their thoughts, feelings, and ideas without rigidly adhering to traditional norms or customer requirements. This freedom is usually more evident in fine arts, where the main objective is personal expression, not commercial fulfillment. Artists are free to explore a range of styles, techniques, and themes without the need to comply with specific client demands.
Art Lessons vs. Graphic Design Assignments
Art lessons often encourage students to experiment and take chances with their work. This learning atmosphere nurtures creativity and helps students cultivate their distinctive artistic style. Instructors frequently advocate for artistic freedom as a means for students to evolve and mature as artists.
Conversely, graphic design operates within a distinct set of rules. Graphic designers typically work on projects with defined objectives, target demographics, and brand guidelines set by clients. These guidelines are crucial to ensure that the final output aligns with the client's vision and business objectives. Therefore, graphic design clients may not be as open to extensive artistic freedom as those in fine arts.
Client Expectations in Graphic Design
Brand Persona: Clients usually have solid brand personas that they want their designs to embody. This includes color palettes, typography, logos, and overall aesthetics that need to be followed to maintain uniformity across all promotional materials.
Target Demographic: Graphic design often targets specific demographics or market segments. Designers need to consider what resonates with these audiences when crafting visuals, which may require them to limit their artistic decisions based on audience tastes.
Practical Requirements: Unlike fine art pieces that might serve purely aesthetic functions, graphic design often has practical requirements (e.g., text legibility in ads or user-friendliness of web interfaces). These practical aspects can limit creative liberties.
Feedback Cycles: The design process usually includes multiple rounds of feedback from clients or stakeholders. This collaborative method can lead to modifications that might water down the initial artistic concept to meet client expectations.
Commercial Goals: Ultimately, graphic design serves commercial purposes—whether it's marketing a product or advertising a service—meaning that designs must effectively convey messages in line with business strategies.
Conclusion
While there are cases where graphic design clients may permit some level of artistic freedom—particularly if they trust the designer's expertise—the general trend is towards more structured guidelines compared to fine arts environments where personal expression is key. Therefore, it's fair to say that graphic design clients generally do not allow as much artistic freedom as one might experience in an art lesson setting.
The likelihood of this answer being accurate is high due to the clear differences between fine arts and graphic design practices based on industry norms and client relationships.
Top 3 Reliable Sources Used to Answer this Question
1. AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts)
AIGA is a design professional association that offers resources on best practices in graphic design, including client-designer relationships and industry norms.
2. “Graphic Design: A New History” by Stephen J. Eskilson
This book provides insights into the development of graphic design as a discipline and discusses how client expectations shape creative processes within the field.
3. “The Art of Client Service” by Robert Solomon
This resource concentrates on effectively managing client relationships while balancing creative integrity with commercial demands in various creative industries, including graphic design.
GOD BLESS YOU!
JC.
Do Patrons in the Artistic Realm Permit Artistic Freedom?
Decoding Artistic Freedom
Artistic freedom is the liberty an artist enjoys to convey their thoughts, feelings, and ideas without rigidly adhering to traditional norms or customer requirements. This freedom is usually more evident in fine arts, where the main objective is personal expression, not commercial fulfillment. Artists are free to explore a range of styles, techniques, and themes without the need to comply with specific client demands.
Art Lessons vs. Graphic Design Assignments
Art lessons often encourage students to experiment and take chances with their work. This learning atmosphere nurtures creativity and helps students cultivate their distinctive artistic style. Instructors frequently advocate for artistic freedom as a means for students to evolve and mature as artists.
Conversely, graphic design operates within a distinct set of rules. Graphic designers typically work on projects with defined objectives, target demographics, and brand guidelines set by clients. These guidelines are crucial to ensure that the final output aligns with the client's vision and business objectives. Therefore, graphic design clients may not be as open to extensive artistic freedom as those in fine arts.
Client Expectations in Graphic Design
Brand Persona: Clients usually have solid brand personas that they want their designs to embody. This includes color palettes, typography, logos, and overall aesthetics that need to be followed to maintain uniformity across all promotional materials.
Target Demographic: Graphic design often targets specific demographics or market segments. Designers need to consider what resonates with these audiences when crafting visuals, which may require them to limit their artistic decisions based on audience tastes.
Practical Requirements: Unlike fine art pieces that might serve purely aesthetic functions, graphic design often has practical requirements (e.g., text legibility in ads or user-friendliness of web interfaces). These practical aspects can limit creative liberties.
Feedback Cycles: The design process usually includes multiple rounds of feedback from clients or stakeholders. This collaborative method can lead to modifications that might water down the initial artistic concept to meet client expectations.
Commercial Goals: Ultimately, graphic design serves commercial purposes—whether it's marketing a product or advertising a service—meaning that designs must effectively convey messages in line with business strategies.
Conclusion
While there are cases where graphic design clients may permit some level of artistic freedom—particularly if they trust the designer's expertise—the general trend is towards more structured guidelines compared to fine arts environments where personal expression is key. Therefore, it's fair to say that graphic design clients generally do not allow as much artistic freedom as one might experience in an art lesson setting.
The likelihood of this answer being accurate is high due to the clear differences between fine arts and graphic design practices based on industry norms and client relationships.
Top 3 Reliable Sources Used to Answer this Question
1. AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts)
AIGA is a design professional association that offers resources on best practices in graphic design, including client-designer relationships and industry norms.
2. “Graphic Design: A New History” by Stephen J. Eskilson
This book provides insights into the development of graphic design as a discipline and discusses how client expectations shape creative processes within the field.
3. “The Art of Client Service” by Robert Solomon
This resource concentrates on effectively managing client relationships while balancing creative integrity with commercial demands in various creative industries, including graphic design.
GOD BLESS YOU!
JC.
Andy Wang
Senior Storyboard Artist
110
Answers
Albany, California
Updated
Andy’s Answer
Hi Evan,
You've asked a great question. Unfortunately the answer isn't so simple. It will vary from client to client, from project to project.
For example if you are working on a licensed property, the client will generally be very strict about how their work can be interpreted. Having worked on several different ones I can give you a little insight. For a game using the Simpsons license the client was very strict. We had a defined color palette that we could not stray from. Residential buildings had to have windows of one color while commercial building windows had to be another color, etc.
For a Lord of the Rings game (that unfortunately never shipped) we were given a bit more room to play around with since the events of the game were not taking place during the timeline of the movies. So we were allowed to extrapolate and try to come up with what things might have looked like in that world but in a different era.
Original materials can be just as varied depending on the personality of the creator. Some people will have a set vision, an idea about what it is they're looking for. Others may be more open to collaboration and input from the artist.
One way to think about it is that one day you might be the person in charge. But with so much to do you won't have the time to do every piece of art yourself. So how might you handle it? Would you be very strict and require all of the art to match your vision precisely? Would you be more fluid and open to more leeway on the look?
There isn't a correct answer. It just depends on the project and who you're working with. I would recommend looking at some of the Pixar art books from their many films. You'll see concept art of various styles and looks. There is a lot of exploration that is done at the beginning of a project like that and so productions often allow for more artistic liberties then. But once a production is in flight they have to make sure that everything looks the same and is cohesive. So if you come into a project late, you will most likely have less room for artistic liberties.
I hope that this helps. And hopefully one day, when you're creating your own projects and worlds, you'll keep in mind what those young, up-and-coming artists are capable of and maybe let them play around a little more at the start.
Andy
Check out some Pixar art books and look at the variety of art styles in the development process
Think about how you would run a production of something that you created
Look at other art books from video games, television, movies, etc. to see how much exploration and artistic liberties they went through before getting to a finalized product.
You've asked a great question. Unfortunately the answer isn't so simple. It will vary from client to client, from project to project.
For example if you are working on a licensed property, the client will generally be very strict about how their work can be interpreted. Having worked on several different ones I can give you a little insight. For a game using the Simpsons license the client was very strict. We had a defined color palette that we could not stray from. Residential buildings had to have windows of one color while commercial building windows had to be another color, etc.
For a Lord of the Rings game (that unfortunately never shipped) we were given a bit more room to play around with since the events of the game were not taking place during the timeline of the movies. So we were allowed to extrapolate and try to come up with what things might have looked like in that world but in a different era.
Original materials can be just as varied depending on the personality of the creator. Some people will have a set vision, an idea about what it is they're looking for. Others may be more open to collaboration and input from the artist.
One way to think about it is that one day you might be the person in charge. But with so much to do you won't have the time to do every piece of art yourself. So how might you handle it? Would you be very strict and require all of the art to match your vision precisely? Would you be more fluid and open to more leeway on the look?
There isn't a correct answer. It just depends on the project and who you're working with. I would recommend looking at some of the Pixar art books from their many films. You'll see concept art of various styles and looks. There is a lot of exploration that is done at the beginning of a project like that and so productions often allow for more artistic liberties then. But once a production is in flight they have to make sure that everything looks the same and is cohesive. So if you come into a project late, you will most likely have less room for artistic liberties.
I hope that this helps. And hopefully one day, when you're creating your own projects and worlds, you'll keep in mind what those young, up-and-coming artists are capable of and maybe let them play around a little more at the start.
Andy
Andy recommends the following next steps:
Michael Porter
Senior User Experience Designer
4
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Michael’s Answer
Often times as a designer you are given a brief that lists the client's requirements for the project. These can vary from very loose, to a very specific look and feel. It will vary from client to client though. So the short answer is yes, often in design a client has very specific needs in mind.