Since graduating from George Brown's Graphic Design
program in 1994, Paul Fleming has witnessed major changes in the industry,
particularly in how design has affected the explosive growth and development
of new media.
"
When I was at George Brown, the Internet as a commercial
entity was still in its infancy," Paul remembers. "I had a
couple of friends who were showing off their Internet connections
at the time, and I was struck by how unintuitive and hard to use it was.
Back
then there were a lot of purely technical people involved - we were
part of the first wave of people who recognized the Web
as something that needed to be designed."
Shortly after graduation,
Paul landed a job with a design firm and worked there for
a number of years; drawing on
the skills he learned at GBC and adapting them to the uncharted
realm of the Web. Over
the past decade, he and his contemporaries have been influential
in moving design from something regarded by many companies
as an afterthought, to
its current position as a cornerstone of any good business. "Everything
is designed now. It's becoming more and more prevalent that people
look for and appreciate good design," he says.
Paul co-founded Red
Communications in 1997 with business partner Curtis Achilles,
another GBC Design Program grad.
Red has won numerous awards and accolades, and has been
featured in magazines around
the world. "We called the company Red because red's the colour
of passion, and I think that reflects how we feel about
our work," explains
Paul. "Our motto is "Design for the Greater Good" because
we genuinely believe that good design goes beyond advertising - it's
an important part of life in general, and we keep that
in mind when working with our clients."
Paul has remained active
within GBC over the years and was recently named Chair
of the New Media advisory board
for 2005.
"
I've gone in as a guest speaker in the past, letting students know
what they can expect when they enter the workforce," he says. "Now
I'm looking to become more involved; to share my experiences and
hopefully implement some of what I've learned into the course curriculum
as well."
In addition to the extensive renovations to the facilities,
Paul has seen George Brown's design curriculum evolve in response
to the dramatic changes in the industry. "When I graduated, the
program was basically split into Graphic May 9, 2008et," he says. "Now there are
five specialized branches and you take a lot of electives,
which allows you to focus your
education on what interests you most."
As for Red, the company has
recently moved into a new studio on Queen Street West.
"
Although most of our clients are Canadian, one of the great
joys of our success has been meeting and working with people from all
over the world," says Paul. "I've had conversations
with students from places like Brazil, Cyprus, and Japan, and that in
turn has influenced the work. One of the things that's most exciting
about designing for the Internet is that we're developing brand
new tools for communicating globally, in ways that are literally going
to shape the future." Read more stories from George Brown
Graduates...
|
PROGRAMS AND COURSES 
