Week 6

            I have never really cared for the relationship between design and art. In high school when I was deciding on the path I would take as an artist I came to two different conclusions. On the one hand I could become a studio artist and create work that I wanted to create and most likely not make any money. Or I could go into design (which was more business oriented), make art for clients and still not make any money (but just a little bit more than a studio artist). I thought about it for a while and finally decided on design but not because it would make me a little more money. What I realized is that I enjoy helping others more than myself and design is all about using one’s artistic talents to solve another’s problems. That’s all that matters to me, I don’t really care if my work is never shown in a gallery or written about in textbooks all I care about is using my talents to help others.

            But there is debate over this and many designers bemoan the fact that design has always been undermined by art. Many wish for a level playing field where art and design exist in equal respect. This lack of respect is evident in the interview between the two designers Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augstyniak where one gives the account of their removal from a guest list they had added themselves to, a guest list for an art show. Although now they are hosting their own art exhibition which shows a change between the relationship of art and design. Design is beginning to become as well known as art and actually affects more people, as writer Rick Poynor argues.  Poynor also gives examples of designers who have used art-like qualities in their work and argues that those who reject such design for being too artistic represent one design aesthetic. There are countless ways to approach art and design and segregating the two only leads to close-mindedness and unnecessary bickering.

            I also do not care for sides or labels as they restrict and cause people to separate the “us” from the “them”. Art and design has been like this and whenever artists and designers have attempted to cross over they have been met with criticism. But there is no need for this line between the two because nothing is ever set in stone. Kees Dorst argues that artists and designers work like the other without even realizing sometimes. When the artist is planning towards a finished product or the designer is subconsciously expressing himself through design the line blurs. In my experience the line is always blurred and definitions are never solid because it is such a difficult thing to categorize an ever-changing idea; that is why I don’t agree with siding on art or design. I call myself a designer but only because I use my talents to help others. But who’s to say that I can’t create for myself sometimes either? All of this arguing over the lack of respect design receives could be solved if the boundaries were just torn down.

Sketches for sustainability redesign project:

Sustainability List

10 things graphic designers can do to conserve paper

1. Explore materials outside of paper.

2. Make use of digital media.

3. Make your design count. Wasted design is wasted materials. 

4. Design from the cradle to the cradle. Make your designs useful in their afterlives.

5. Spread the word. You can do a lot by saving paper but you can do so much more by convincing a nation to do the same. 

6. Print sparingly. If you need to view the design on paper print it in a small scale. 

7. Bigger is not always better. However if it is necessary make use of recycled paper to reduce waste.

8. Recycle old sketch books. If you really want to save them use a computer to scan the images into a digital format.

9. Reuse old sketch books. The erasure is a powerful tool.

10. If printing in bulk invest in the recycled papers available. 

Week 5


             I love amateurs. By amateurs I don’t mean those who are naïve and untrained but those that do something for the sake of doing it. Amateur designers create for a variety of reasons (advertisement, personal identity, just for the hell of it, etc.) and they do it all naturally. Do it yourself design is as much a part of our environment as professionally crafted design however we may not notice it as much because it serves a more practical purpose. Take a local storefront sign for example; it serves little purpose other than informing passersby the name of the store. However, as time goes on the sign becomes ubiquitous with the store and after a while it eventually becomes a staple part of the visual culture not because it’s an excellent piece of design but because it is integrated into the environment. Its vernacular design; the everyday images and structures designed by non-designers, the amateurs. Our culture is shaped by the vernacular as much as flashy attention grabbing professional design.

            My favorite amateurs are the rebels. They are the people who do their own thing because they don’t want to follow. Tibor Kalman and Karrie Jacobs must feel the same way. Their article “We’re Here to be Bad” calls out for rebellion so much so that the article itself seems to be rebelling against the reader. Designers have been caught up in the soul sucking yes-man world of big business, Kalman and Jacobs argue. The cure? Take a look at vernacular design where the inspiration comes not from getting paid but from filling a need or solving a personal problem. I agree with them and I also agree with their argument about the role of the designer, not as a corporate lap dog but as a cultural agitator, but I feel torn. Part of me wants to be “bad” (as Kalman and Jacobs put it) but the other part keeps reminding me of my position. Right now I’m at the bottom and to be honest not much will come of me rebelling against the system other than getting fired and replaced.

            That’s why I admire the amateur (and in some ways envy them). They design to fill their own needs without any pressure; it’s a venerable sense of simple practicality. What’s even more impressive is that such design plays a role in shaping our culture (much more than we may realize). Gerry Beegan and Paul Atkinson’s article chronicling amateur design through the years shows just how this “invisible” design contributes to culture in a subconscious way. It’s the self-buildings and homemade furniture that are so much a part of our daily life that they become ingrained in our memory. It’s more than just conveying a message; it’s about creating a niche within one’s environment. It’s expression through design that over time becomes part of our visual culture.

Professionalism, Amateurism, and the Boundaries of Design

by Gerry Beegan and Paul Atkinson

• Amateur designers have existed alongside professional designers for many years and recent technological advancements have further blurred the line between maker and user.
• Amateur design has been used as an alternative to consumerism.
• Everyday objects and buildings that become a part of daily life fall under the term Vernacular Design.
• Vernacular Design has subconsciously influenced other fields of design (such as Modernism which ironically rejects vernacular design)
• The amateurs are the “ghosts” of the design world who contribute silently and subconsciously.

We’re Here to be Bad

by Tibor Kalman and Karrie Jacobs

• Bad design is not poorly made design but design created to be rebellious.
• Designers have been bought into and subdued by corporations who opt for the “safe” method of design.
• Designers need to make design that shakes our notions of good and bad design.
• Vernacular design is design in its purest form.
• Design schools teach too much about their perception of good design and not enough about vernacular design.