Are you a design ambassador?

As a professional designer and GDC member, how are you at promoting the graphic design profession and the GDC? Now I don't mean how are you at promoting your business, or the services you provide, but rather your profession.

Whether it’s a local business networking function, a conference, speaking to other designers or potential clients, do you talk about the GDC or what a certified graphic designer does? Do you talk to your design colleagues at work and recommend that they become members as well? When you are at parties are you met with confused looks when you say you are a graphic designer?

Over twenty years ago a design professor of mine made a joke in class about trying to explain to his parents what a graphic designer does. The punch line was that his parents, still to that day, did not understand what he did for a living. [1] I am pleased to report that my parents actually understood what I do for a living back then, but I can not say the same for business owners I meet today.

As professional graphic designers and professional communicators the onus is on us to speak up and talk about our profession. The GDC has made great strides in promoting graphic design as a profession nationally, but in the Atlantic Canadian business community it is still not widely understood what graphic designers, let alone a certified graphic designer, does.

We are members of the GDC, because we believe in our profession and supporting our professional society, but we also need to share those values and instill them in others who are in our profession and are not currently members. The more professional graphic designers who share the same professional values, ethics, business standards etc., the better it is for all of our respective design practices. The greater the number of potential clients that understand what services and skill sets a graphic designer can offer a business the better it is for our profession.

I would like to ask all of our members to make a point of becoming design ambassadors. When you are in the community, please make a point of promoting the GDC, CGD certification and your chosen profession of graphic design. Also make sure that those people at parties, with a confused look on their face after you introduce yourself as a graphic designer, have a clear, concise explanation of what that means. It will ultimately mean that all of us will have fewer of those instances!

Richard Osborne CGD
GDC Atlantic President

1  Years later the joke had deeper meaning when I realized that Tony Mann FGDC was a well recognized graphic designer in both Canada and his home country of England.

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