As a graphic designer, I find it easy to nail down a message and visual style for most businesses. The hard part is getting clients to accept my ideas. I usually have to tone it down considerably to accommodate the tastes of less-creative businesspeople. I realize they must know their business model and market in order to succeed, and ultimately are the ones making the decision, but there are days I can’t help but think that the world would be a more beautiful, or at least interesting, place if corporate types just listened to professional designers (graphic, environmental, architects) and let us run with our ideas.

In today’s marketplace, the more visual resonance your project has, the more people will flock to buy. It’s growing more and more this way as the next generation after Generation X (mine and especially younger) has more buying power. These fast-thinking consumers will have less brand loyalty and are more likely to buy based on appearances.

Maturity does have something to do with a lack of product loyalty, but I don’t think the older folks in charge realize the immense change the Internet has had on the thought process of young people. For example, I didn’t use the Internet or even know what it was till I was 17. My government class teacher showed us how to use it as a research too. Age 17 still sounds pretty young, but imagine the difference between me and someone born 5 years later. A 12-year-old child in 2002 would be on the web not only for schoolwork, but also for chatting, shopping, and downloading music. The difference is like night and day between myself and someone born 10-15 years later. Today, the many 12-year-olds aren’t very cautious about what he or she puts on their Myspace or Facebook page, Flickr site, or what movies and video games they consume. I tend to be conservative with the information and image I project of myself online, but you can see the difference in looking at someone 10 or even 5 years younger who has pretty much grown up with the Internet.