Vacancy in the Vain Brain
A Response to: http://www.designobserver.com/archives/027882.html#more
I've noticed something about my fellow students at Kendall, whether we are at the school until close, discussing projects over a cigarette, or merely chatting about design websites on aim. We take design very seriously. So do our professors. Yet they not only urge us to take the aesthetic seriously they insist on the growth of our ever expanding spongy undergraduate brains; be alert and observant to the world in which we live, and others for that matter. Good design is good, but smart design is better. Right?
Now perhaps we haven't been in the graphic design industry long enough to shake our fists in the air demanding respect from the heavens and so forth. Nevertheless I do find my face going red with the furry of a Viking in the heat of battle when someone asks: "Dur, graphic design? So like, you make stuff looks good?" Or at least that's what it sounds like when it makes it past my ears and into my brain. We find this sort of attitude toward our profession not only frustrating, but down right infuriating. These feelings are warranted, but they also provide a dangerous opportunity: the trap of complacency.
Yes, for me there is a pride in being a graphic designer. It seems it is a lifestyle choice more often than a profession. It is rewarding and has a hint of glamor. But it's easy to get wrapped up in our little microcosm of a world. Rex's blog had mentioned in his blog certain issues revolving around trend. Trend is a strange area for designers. We are also not only ahead of the curve when it comes to trend but in many cases the creators of them. We like everything before it is cool, and when its available and acceptable to the general public we toss it out like a dime store hooker. There is a song by a band called Say Anything that comes to mind "Despite your pseudo-bohemian appearance and vaguely leftist doctrine of beliefs, you know nothing ABOUT art or sex that you couldn't read in any trendy new york underground fashion magazine...Proto-typical non-conformist. You are a vacuous soldier of the thrift store gastapo."
It's a difficult crossroad. Jason and I were discussing the celebration of ignorance in today's culture. Where as 100 years ago the wealthy spent their leisure educating themselves and reading all the time, we have Paris Hilton. She goes to parties. Now in a culture that seemingly adores the abolition of the intellectual, should we not be concerned? At the same time, in order to be taken seriously maybe we should take ourselves a little less seriously.
Like I said before, I feel fortunate to say that I don't see much of that at our school. Mostly I just see a passion for our craft, and an eagerness for information. We take design seriously, in what we do, and what were doing it for. Thats a good thing i think. And as a side note i personally think that design should be smart and sexified. i.e. Ms. South Carolina would have been much more attractive if she would have talked about the design of maps and information systems to better educate our youth, or "U.S. Americans."
posted by scarydinosaur @ 3:00 AM
3 Comments:
an engaging post, one worthy of some response. I've also spent some time wondering at which point the wealthy stopped reading and started wasting. Probably around the same time that knowledge became available to everyone. Once everyone could educate themselves regardless of their social position I suppose intellect fell out of fashion. But if life is reactionary then it is only a matter of time before we rediscover the lost pastime of personal education and a desire to learn. I think for the most part, designers are very tuned in on many levels, not just in the realms of design, but in our world in general, which has a funny way of influencing our design, and vice versa. In this regard, our chosen profession really does become a lifestyle. We become "aestheti-sexual" if i may be so bold as coin a term. Constantly concerned with perception and view, sometimes to the point of superficiality and narcissism. But thats in now, so its ok.
"that knowledge became available to everyone." I agree. When knowledge became more of a commodity , perhaps it went "out of fashion" for the bourgeoisie. I don't know. Somewhere along the line our education was extremely important, its how we make a living. Then perhaps ignorance among the wealthy (at least celebrity) became fashionable. They don't need smarts, they have stocks.
As far as design I liked how you said "...not just in the realms of design, but in our world in general, which has a funny way of influencing our design, and vice versa."
Also, "aestheti-sexual" is the coolest term ever. I just called Webster, he said he's putting it in.
Coining terms is more than allowed in this forum.
You both bring interesting perspectives to the continuous discussion that surrounds our field. I saw an infomercial last night for one of those mail order colleges, and among the regular listing of disciplines of information technology, law enforcement, paralegal, veterinary technician, was... you guessed it, graphic design.
Soon we -- those who take what we do very seriously -- will have to compete against those "professionals" as well. Perhaps the discussion of certifying graphic designers, like architects or doctors, will be considered more seriously.
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