I
remember reading the First Things First manifesto
last fall in my Professional Practice class, and immediately connecting with it
completely. I was so excited to see all these influencial and highly successful
designers who had signed this statement, which talked about something that I
had personally thought about quite a bit. The misconception that graphic design
is a tool to aid in advertising and marketing and consumerism is one that I
myself bought into not all that long ago. I didn’t start out as a Design major
here, likely for precisely that reason, though I don’t think I ever consciously
realized it. After beginning to study and immerse myself in the world of design
however, I of course quickly realized that it is far from design’s only
purpose. It’s sad that this has become one of design’s foremost focuses, though
it makes a great deal of sense in a way. Advertising and marketing are
certainly where much of the money and exposure are; that is after all their
ultimate goal.
I
personally believe that designers should make the choice and feel responsible
for who it is and what it is that they are designing for. I don’t think it’s
possible to say that values do not matter in this regard. When I look around, I
constantly see how essential design is to the success of just about anything.
Granted, I am a visual person, but I think that no matter who you are, the
design of something will have an enormous impact on you, whether you are aware
of it or not. As Rick Poynor stated, “the content is always mediated by the
design, and it’s the design that helps direct how we perceive it and how it
makes us feel.” I think as designers we need to be aware of this power that we
possess, and use it for forces of good wherever possible. I don’t think it’s
realistic at all to wish that designers would stop working for big companies
and in advertising, it simply won’t happen, but I do hope that talented
designers could have the strength to reject projects in which their talents
were being used to distribute negative or harmful messages, no matter the
salary attached.
I
know that in my own career I will be consciously working hard to do work for
clients with good values, or for projects that I believe in. I think that designers
hold an immense amount of influencial power in their hands, and where they
choose to invest that power is key. As Poynor also points out, advertising does
pay the bills, and I’m sure I won’t be immune to this sort of work, however I
also know that I couldn’t do great design for a client who’s values I question.
I think it’s really exciting the sort of impact designers can have, and I’m
really looking forward to seeing what I can do with my own abilities. I look
around sometimes and see ads and publicity for really important things, animal
shelters and homeless services for example, who have no money to produce these
things and it shows. It makes me sad because their poor design will go quickly
overlooked. It might be naïve of me, but I hope I can be successful enough in
the future to help such organizations even though they can’t afford to pay
much.
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