….Good design develops incrementally, and in an unavoidably globalised community, good design projects bounce off of other ones. In these small explosions of technical nous and creative spirit you will see the materialisation of over-arching social concerns – environmental issues, globalisation, consumerism, ethics etc. – not as doctrinaire monoliths, but as small, individual investigations into contemporary culture.

 

A designer’s social responsibility – if he or she feels the need – is to ask questions rather than to place emphasis on problem-solving. Designers need to stop making simplistic overtures to saving the world; stop the mantra for ‘socially-responsible design’ that ignores the issues of religion, politics and personal taste; and stop seducing the consumer into believing that the choice of one particular design over another equates to sound ethical/political judgement. Finally, designers must stop measuring the impact of design solely on how big is the problem and instead focus on how important is the question.

 

Full article here http://bit.ly/cHZoYP

Joseph

07.30.10 at 12:34

Is Humanitarian Design the New Imperialism?