The Agony and the Ecstasy May 19, 2009, by Peter Mirus, Chris Pelicano in Design
Movie buffs may be familiar with the 1965 classic The Agony and the Ecstasy, starring Charlton Heston as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison as Pope Julius II. If my memory serves me correctly, the movie portrays the painting of the Sistine Chapel, including the intellectual relationship between the two lead characters.
One of its oft-quoted movie lines is from Pope Julius II, who (desiring a more snappy completion of the project) incessantly questions Michelangelo, “When will you make an end?” To which the latter replies, “When I am finished!”
Great artwork often requires both time and space in which to make the accomplishment. If you are working on a commissioned piece, such as Michelangelo was, naturally you will have pressure to bring the project to a timely conclusion (particularly if you are charging time plus materials).
However, Michelangelo’s ability to create a great and godly work was due to his reluctance to be pressured into completing the work more rapidly than the occasion called for. In other words, he appreciated what his own skills, combined with the magnitude of the project, required for success.
Conversely, commercial graphic design is almost invariably performed on a budget and a schedule. Were you to walk into your graphic designer’s office and ask, “When are you going to be done?” and receive the answer “When I am finished!” you would not be a happy camper.
UPDATE: There are certain mutual responsibilities between the graphic designer and the client/employer, addressed in these posts:
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