The theme of the 1989 AIGA Design Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, was “Dangerous Ideas.” As a mere conference attendee, Seven Woes was my attempt to share some dangerous design ideas with my fellow attendees. Cheaply xeroxed, I handed out the postcard-sized list randomly while awaiting the first speaker one morning.
The Seven Woes are:
1
The designer who said: “I don’t need problems from some illustrator.”
2
The client who said: “I love what you’ve done, but did you have any other ideas?”
3
The art director who said: “Move to New York and I’ll use you.”
4
The designer who said: “This is far too sophisticated. Remember, your audience bowls.”
5
The client who said: “This won’t work at all; there aren’t any clichés.”
6
The designer who said: “We’re not creating art here—this is a business.”
7
The client who said: “I’m sorry, but we can’t use it; one of the women on the board thinks it looks like a penis.”
All of the quotes on the card are real, and were directed to me. (The art director in quote no. 3 is none other than Steven Heller.) The variation of the BlackDog logo was drawn by Gary Baseman. (MF)