Can Designer change the world?
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- Seph0
Are'nt you forgetting that design can suggest a way of thinking, a lifestyle, a philosophy?
I agree that that in most cases the textual information takes precedent over the visual language, but sometimes when the text information itself is less important/significant the message lies in the visual language, its context, originality, personality etc etc.
- Seph0
wow bull. re-reading....
- Najam0
Design is the solution of the problem SIMPLE
- sexypixel0
what problem
- Najam0
any kind of problem or need
like you want to communicate with thousands of ppl at a time
(This is not a big problem in this world now) but this is an example
- ********0
"(This is not a big problem in this world now)"
yes, it is.
- bull0
Dunno, seph, that seems pretty idealistic to me.
Fair enough, design does suggest a way of thinking, a lifestyle, a philosophy, but it's often the case that the way of life is being imposed on the individual through the medium.So, the clothes you wear, the beer you drink, the places you hang, the stuff you surround yourself with all makes implication about the kind of person you are. But what's the source of the implication.
Some marketing guy, of course!
Diesel went one further, of course, when they did the series of ads sponsoring friendship, dreams etc, basically saying that by wearing Diesel you understand the irony and therefore regain your individuality by elevating yourself above the commercial piledriver of late capitalism. Not too subtle, but it worked a treat, eh!
Personal work (non-commercial)is a better case study, but still derives from the enforced fingerprinting we inherit through whatever comsumptive means we engage in.
I guess the whole Newstoday/quorporation thing is along the same lines, which succeeds because it has two levels of irony, two tongues-in-cheek, kind've deal.
- tomkat0
maybe this thread needs a lil redesign..
can the world change designers?
- ptrdo0
kicking and screaming
- Seph0
Bull, I totally agree with you, we are in the present, its almost impossible to seperate content and context, but if you are talking about "design" in the true historical sense of the word.
What are the lasting impressions of ancient civilizations? Roman, Egyptian, Maya - all of them used design to express a philosophy, an idealism that served as a kind of beacon for the masses. Nothings really changed, design changes the world, but only in retrospect.
- ape0
If you truley believe designers change the world then i guess we don't need printers and webserver. Or for that matter editors or thinkers.
I'm goin with the cog in the wheel ideal.(unless you realize you are more than a designer, and everyone else is a designer too)
- ptrdo0
It seems to me that design is not earth-shaking stuff, just another way to catch people's eye. Moving product, that's all.
Design matters most when times are good, and then only to compete with other design.
These days, people are looking more at sticker price than whether or not it looks good. Good function at a good price are the competing traits.
When everyone has a bit more change in their pocket, that's when they shop around for what looks nice, and that's the time when everything [and everybody] needs to compete at that level.
- Seph0
Whatever processes are involved the end result is always designed in some way.
You change the world in a more significant way by inventing a Television than by designing it, but the design of the television tells of something that is also very important and far more subtle, this television is designed considering "the way we want things to be in the future"
Our aspirations giude our destiny type thing.
The cog that is design is a seed that grows, moulds and shapes future inventions as yet uninvented.
- bull0
Now you're talking.
Once again though, what was the fucntion of those great designs.
Examples: Rome Colluseum.
built in homage to Gods by Emperor.Egyt Pyramids
Built in dedication to Pharoah(s)
and the constellations (astronomers were the shamens of the era).In both cases, the idea is that the hand of man creates something worthy of the divine.
Nothing's changed except the object of worship:
Emperor
gods
Pharoahs
Stars
God
Money
Whateverthe point of design is to elevate the object to a status above that of the mundane, thus taming the mathematically or physically sublime.
It's a very servile thing, and it really only depends which way you point when you're kneeling.
ie. buy this BangOlufssen stereo, and your status rises.
In the 16th century, you had to be good at art to get closer to god, becuase the ability to represent the beauty of gods kindom is to some extent godly.
Nowadays, the ability to recognize, and more importantly, to have the means to aquire the well designed product is the godly act.
The designers job is to create the meeting point between the consumer and the divine. The only problem is, we've all got the 'divine' wrong.
This is how design is only helping to keep the world as it is, and not to change it.
I may now have completely disappeared into my own arse, but wtf!
- ********0
the play icon on your VCR, the on/off icon on your tv-set..
universal language..
helps us understand things in a completely strange country.
but i must say:
it's ideas/concepts that really change things.
- Seph0
No you havent disapeared up your own arse, there some nice insights in what you write.
Its the world that has disapeared up its own arse. But Im enjoying it anyway.
there has always been consumerism though, those paintings from the 16th Century were commisioned buy a rich fucker who wanted to impress other rich fuckers. but I get what you are saying. the painter himself was thought to have divine inspiration.
the lack of spitituality in this day and age is a sad thing, but give me carnal pleasures over pias suffering anyday.
(-:
- Seph0
I read somewhere at a Pop Art exhibition:
Exceptional people talk about their ideas.
Great people talk about other peoples ideas.
Ordinary people talk about other people.
- ptrdo0
op >> Most people actually don’t know what design is. <> If you agree with this statement, then it is your responsibility to make them aware of it. <<
Not true. Only bad design makes itself obvious. Good design is like smooth pavement.
- Seph0
So true ptrdo !
- unknown0
Designers think too much of themselves.