I finally solidified my topic after changing about three times while researching, and started properly on Tuesday last week. Since then it was hard going, but I am pretty happy with it now. I have also put some images in which I think relate to the topic, and areas in some particular parts of my essay.
The point I wanted to be critical about mostly in this essay was to show that designers are never able to get away from consumerism not matter how hard they try currently. Any other area, for instance, what that means for the future and whether or not it is a bad thing that we are taking over by consumerism is for the reader to decide. I however wanted to make it clear that all design are controlled by consumerism in one way or another, and that obviously going forward with life this isn't a sustainable option, however it might not be that we have to eradicate consumerism completely.
Anyway, I looove my cover and back. I am hoping to get it printed properly and bound (lol...oh actually...), annoyingly I know its harder to get better binds that wire bound most places. Maybe I will literally bind it in rope....YYEEESSSS. I'll get it bound through as well, or at least connected somehow...and then I'll put some rope on it. Yay go me.
Anyway - here is where I am at before getting feedback from my two feedback people...
So I don't know why some of them are grey and sizing is all weird, but I had to jpg them each from my pdf, so whatever. I'll also post the text below:
DESIGN: BOUND BY CONSUMERISM
In current market-driven societies designers
will find it near impossible to combat consumerism. According to Miles,
consumerism is “the religion of the late twentieth century” (1998, p. 1)
suggesting all aspects of society are led by commercialist ideals. All design
disciplines have succumbed to commercialism, even those areas whose ethics are
fundamentally against consumerism (Bardzell & Bardzell, 2013; Dunne & Raby,
2013; Kotler & Rath, 1984). This essay will investigate the relationship
between design and consumerism and argue the impossibility of being a designer
in the modern day without reinforcing consumerist ideals. It will include a
specific focus on affirmative and critical design disciplines, and illustrate
those consumerist ideals being completely eradicated may not be the way of the
future.
Consumerism has a variety of definitions, and
continues to change as society develops. According to Miles consumerism relates
to the “selection, purchase, use, maintenance, repair, and disposal of any
product or service” (1998. p.3). Consumerism therefore underpins the world’s
economy and stability. Many important aspects concerning consumerism exist,
such as the difference between consumption and consumerism (Miles, 1998).
Consumption and consumerism are inextricably linked, although to help dissect
meaning, Miles offers, “While consumption is an act, consumerism is a way of
life” (1998, p. 4). Not only is consumerism essential to the economic stability
of the developed world, but imperative to everyday life and culture (Miles,
1998). Therefore, market-driven ideals that consumerism dictates are what
enslave designers to reinforce this way of life.
Design is a highly adaptable discipline in
contemporary culture. Although industrial, media and graphic designers continue
to stand strong, many organisations and academics are uncovering the unlimited
applications of design (Gibbons, 2003). According to Buchanan (1993, p.5):
“No single definition of design, or branches of
professionalised practice such as industrial or graphic design, adequately
covers the diversity of ideas and methods gathered together under the label.
The variety of research reported in conference papers, journal articles and
books suggest that design continues to expand its meaning and connections,
revealing unexpected dimensions in practice as well as understanding.”
The role designer’s play is an important
strategic tool that companies can use to gain a sustainable competitive
advantage (Kotler & Rath, 1984). This fact also illustrates a commercial
application of design, proving strategy and competitive advantage are extremely
important, and highlighting the connection between design and consumerism. Lastly,
an aggressive addition to this viewpoint,
“Designer’s are feeding and feeding this cycle,
helping to turn everyone and everything into either a consumer or a consumable.
And when you think about, this is kind of grotesque. "Consumer" isn't
a dirty word exactly, but it probably oughta be“ (Chochinov, 2007).
Chochinov openly states his issue with
consumerist ideals and designer’s involvement with its reinforcement, however
avoiding this collaboration is much harder to evade than it may seem.
The connection between consumerism and design
is rapidly growing stronger. How design thinking can be applied to corporations
to improve processes, relationships, solutions, products and services, and
ultimately profits, is also more common (Brown, 2014; Buchanan, 1993; Gibbons,
2003; Kotler & Rath, 1984).
This suggests that as technology and society rapidly advance, design as
a discipline will continue to transform, indicating a solid relationship
between consumerism and design.
Designers creating products that fuel the
consumerism fire should also be mentioned, given that the majority of designers
fall into this category (Bardzell & Bardzell, 2013). Consider Industrial
designers for example who create objects by trade. The consumer culture
societies have established increasingly requires designers to meet demand by
“using natural materials and traditional production techniques to create
well-designed, high-quality products” (Appleton, 2011). Therefore the creation
of objects that individuals purchase can be traced back to designers. This
example highlights a common role the designer plays in the consumerist culture
of modern day. Designers evidently play an integral role in helping consumers
purchase products and ultimately reinforce consumerism. Is it designers who
create objects, and people who consume them, and according to Chochinov (2007),
this basic idea is where the issue with designers lies. However, it appears to
be a two-way street with demand for product from consumers also playing a large
role. It is not only designers who follow a consumerist world, and until there
is a major alteration to the current market-driven way of living, no single
role should be blamed with fuelling consumption.
Designers and educators Anthony Dunne and
Fiona Raby title two opposing design categories referred to as affirmative design
and critical design. The pair from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
created a manifesto named ‘A/B’ that is used to describe modern day design:
“Design
can be described as falling into two very broad categories: affirmative design
and critical design. The former reinforces how things are now; it conforms to
cultural, social, technical, and economic expectation. Most design falls into
this category. The latter rejects how things are now as being the only
possibility, it provides a critique of the prevailing situation through designs
that embody alternative social, cultural, technical, or economic values” (Dunne
& Raby, 2001, p. 58).
The
distinction between Affirmative and Critical design should be clear. Affirmative design, “reinforces the
status quo” (Dunne & Raby, 2001), or as listed in Speculative Everything is “consumer driven, narratives of
production, design for production, for how the world is, in the service of
industry” (Dunne & Raby, 2013). Consumption and affirmative design are clearly
highly related. According to Dunne & Raby who are considered the parents of
critical design, affirmative design is the label commonly attached to design in
general and obviously near impossible to avoid (2013). This suggests the
majority of designers will reinforce consumerism through their everyday
careers, and highlights the link between consumerism and design.
Critical design is Dunne & Raby’s answer
to the commercial nature of affirmative design, and therefore requires much
discussion around how it is also controlled by consumerism. The couple’s previously
mentioned manifesto birthed critical design, which can also be referred to as
speculative design, and aims to challenge individuals to analyse how they live
their daily lives, and where the future may lie (2013). Societies economic,
social, ethical, environmental, and technological conditions are questioned in
critical design; if successful, it confronts people to change habits or
endeavour to live better lives aligned with their values and potential futures.
According to Dunne and Raby, critical design rejects consumerist ideas, and
focuses on conveying messages, which establishes it as a “non-commercial practice”
(2001, p. 94). Critical design has
swiftly transformed from a phrase coined by Dunne and Raby to distinguish their
work, into a design practice that has been adopted by many design institutions
around the world (Bardzell & Bardzell, 2013; Wynne-Jones, 2012). Critical
design is a refreshing and useful area of design, and attempts to avoid traditional
commercial practices. However critical design uses product design as its
dominant vehicle and it relies heavily on consumerist theories and understanding.
Emily Wynne-Jones (2012. p. 13), a master’s
student in London, suggests that critical design “requires a prior knowledge of
the subject matter in order to understand the products and their meanings”. For
example, the anti-consumerist values Dunne and Raby may portray in a particular
critical design requires individuals understanding of the topic. Therefore
consumerist culture also drives anti-consumerist messages (Wynne-Jones, 2012).
This illustrates is the enormity of consumerist ideals in modern culture, and
specifically that currently designers who try to escape it, are still
controlled by consumerism.
The dominance of critical practise as a theory
through design education, exhibitions, design literature and seminars also
brings to attention how critical design theory has developed into mainstream
design culture (Victoria.ac.nz, 2014; TED.com, 2014; DunneandRaby.co.uk, 2014).
Education adopting critical design theory arguably illustrates how common the practice
and ideology has become. Although still used to create alternative thought
about everyday life, the practise itself is a part of the commercial world
(Appleton, 2011; Wynne-Jones, 2012). For example, in New Zealand, to have
access to complete a university course where critical design teachings are a
focus, an individual must pay at least NZD $1,022.00, or $4625.00 for
international students (Victoria.ac.nz, 2014). Furthermore, the adoption of
critical design around the world has resulted in commercial success for Dunne
& Raby. ‘Speculative everything’,
a book released by the duo in 2013, currently is on sale for $32.70 on the book
depository website; Amazon also markets the text, for $29.92 USD (Amazon.com,
2014; Book Depository.com, 2014). It appears Dunne & Raby have found a
distinct design niche, and even though the core of critical design is to challenge
commercial ideals, they too have succumbed to the consumerist way of the world.
By selling books, and making money on the ideas that they have created, Dunne
& Raby are showing a major contradiction to everything they stand for. This
example proves that for designers consumerism is impossible to avoid; even when
fundamentally opposed to it, and working against it in principle, designers
can’t escape consumerism.
Other design disciplines that are making their
way into design education should also be mentioned. Social responsibility,
sustainable design, ethnography, and design methods and processes are becoming
increasing popular (Chochinov, 2007). Educators focusing on these areas are
creating well-rounded designers who are more equipped for modern design
obligations, however all of these subjects are controlled by consumerism in one
form or another (Brown, 2014). Finances are a necessity to develop designs,
which again creates a cycle between design and consumption. In the case of sustainable
design, often the materials and labour prove more expensive than creating work
using industrialised methods and non-renewable resources (Gibbons, 2003). Design methods and processes continue
to be applied in an organisational context, and even taking part in ethnography
research requires financing (Brown, 2014; Kotler & Rath, 1984). However small the part consumerism
plays, designers will need an extremely dramatic change to the world in order
to stop reinforcing it. Whether or not the reinforcement of consumerism is an
issue is for the reader to decide, however it is clear that consumerism and
design is undeniably and unavoidably linked.
As previously mentioned Vidyalakshmi (2013) is fundamentally
against designers continued reinforcement of commercial ideals, however as it
proves impossible to avoid, how are designers to drive change without
commercial means? A major change to the world is required (Miles, 1998). Alternative
futures are a specialty of Dunne & Raby, and increasingly mainstream
literature and film (Bardzell & Bardzell, 2013; Burger, 2014; Ross, 2012).
However, typically these alternative futures involve a catastrophic event that
has caused mankind to move away from consumerism. The Hunger Games Trilogy, and
Divergent films are particular recent mainstream examples of alternative worlds
following a disaster event for mankind. These new scenarios are
anti-consumerist worlds that although imagined, were only possible due to
tragedy (Burger, 2014; Ross, 2012).
Although still related to consumption, perhaps
critical, sustainable, or social designs are the way of the future? Dhar
suggests looking for alternative policies and politics that will normalise consumption
the world over making it possible to “secure livelihood standards” (2009, p.
149). Although this future continues to include consumption themes, and current
commercial trends developed countries follow are not sustainable and therefore
cannot be adopted the world over (Miles, 1998). It may be necessary to limit
consumerism, rather than eradicate it while adopting alternative policies as
Dhal suggests. It is clear that
however difficult it may be, the fully consumerist lifestyle will not serve humanity
in the long run (Dhar, 2009; Miles, 1984; Vidyalakshmi, 2013). Many scholars
believe designers, with their critical thinking and creative methods may be the
profession to lead the way into a new sustainable and mostly commercial-free
future (Chochinov, 2007; Dhar, 2009). Designers may have the opportunity to
create positive change, but the transformation may be due to disaster, or
forced revolution if consumption and consumerism eradication continues to be
presented as the answer.
Designers may have the potential to evolve and
guide societies to a consumerism-free future, however currently design and the
world is consumed by it. Affirmative design reinforces the market-driven
developed world, and continues to be the dominant form of design. Many
alternative disciplines are developing that have the potential for change away
from entirely consumerist values. Critical design may have the best chance of
informing anti-consumerist change, however it should be recognised that this
strand of design does require commercial methods to distribute the messages
created. What will happen in the future is unknown, and designers can play a
large part in guiding culture to a more sustainable, ethical, and ideal world,
although is it clear consumerism will play a part in that development.
References
Amodularlife.
(2011). Dining Chairs Dilemma [Image].
Retrieved from: http://emrenoblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/dining-chairs-dilemma/
Appleton,
P. (2011). How Does Economic Recession Affect the Role of the Designer? Design Management Journal, 6(1), 68-78.
Bardzell, J. & Bardzell,
S. 2013. What is "critical" about critical design? Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on
Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '13), New York, USA, 3297-3306.
http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2470654.2466451
Brown,
T. (2014). Change by design. HarperCollins e-books.
Burger,
N. (Director). (2014). Bibme: Divergent [Motion
Picture]. United States: Summit Entertainment
Chochinov,
A. (2007). A Manifesto for Sustainability in Design. World Changing. Retrieved from: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006469.html
Dhar, S. (2009) Free Time and
Profits. Sustainable Futures, p. 105.
Dunne, A., & Raby, F.
(2013) Speculative Everything: Design
Fiction and Social Dreaming. London: The MIT Press.
Dunne, A., & Raby, F.
(2007) Technological Dream Series: No.1
Robots.
Dunne, A., & Raby, F.
(2001) Design noir: The secret life of
electronic objects. Springer.
Ghulum
Esposito Haydar (2013). Consumerism is Killing us All [Image]. Retrieved from:
http://ghulamespositohaydar.com/current-affairs/a-simple-helpful-guide-to-overcome-consumerism/#.VAlVUkjjR7w
Gibbons.
A., S. (2003). What and How do Designers Design? TechTrends. Volume 47 (5). P. 22.
Kotler,
G., P. & Rath, A. (1984), Design: A Powerful but Neglected Strategic Tool. Journal of Business Strategy. Vol. 5(2).
p.16-21.
Kruger,
B. (2014) Barbara Kruger: Modern Art
Oxford. [Image]. Retrieved from: http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tyci.org.uk%2Fwordpress%2Fbarbara-kruger-modern-art-oxford%2F&h=0&w=0&tbnid=NIOPC3RQG83VFM&zoom=1&tbnh=220&tbnw=229&docid=gILQQjzaEXB8aM&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ei=0GYJVM62KceC8gWh2YLICg&ved=0CBcQsCUoBw&biw=1525&bih=657
Miles, S. (1998). Consumerism
- as a Way of Life. London: Sage Publications.
Ross.
G. (Director). (2012). BibMe: The Hunger Games [Motion picture]. United States:
Lions Gate Entertainment.
Sewell,
S. (2010) Ropes Photography [Image].
Retrieved from: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/ropes-svetlana-sewell.html
Ted.com.
(2014) Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/search?q=Critical+Design
Victoria.ac.nz.
(2014). Design Innovation. Retrieved
from: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/study/programmes-courses/subjects/design-innovation
Vidyalakshmi,
A. C., (2013). Quest for Identity, Desire and Dreams – The Resistances to the
Consumerist Ideology in Fight Club, A
psychoanalytic Study. The Criterion: An
International Journal in English. Volume 4 (V). p. 1-8. ISSN: 0976-8165
Wynne-Jones,
E., (2012). A Comparative View of
Critical Design in 2012 and its Relationship to Mass Market Products.
Unpublished Masters Thesis for Masters Degree. Kingston University. London.
United Kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment