Color theory: pure science or cultural constructs?

https://youtu.be/YsYZcF_VQDkColor theory is taught theoretically as one of the formal design elements used in art and design. The color wheel and other universal principles have their roots in the color science of Isaac Newton.However, notions and ideals about color have long been associated with and utilized by colonists and spiritualists. They are rarely based purely in science.In a recent article, Colored Bodies: Cultural Constructs in Standard Color Theory Pedagogy, author Aaron Fine, Professor of Art at Truman State University, discusses his research into some of the most problematic aspects of standard color theory education. Fine talks about Johann Joachim Winckelmann, founder of art history, and his blatant racist statement that "a beautiful body will, accordingly, be the more beautiful the whiter it is."Fine provides more powerful examples and also offers option for educators in their pedagogy. Why not teach about the cultural constructs involved in creating color theory and how powerful they are in addition to the science involved?https://designincubation.com/publications/abstracts/colored-bodies-cultural-constructs-in-standard-color-theory-pedagogy/

Educating for Women's Empowerment

Educators in art and design have a level of visibility with their students that inherently comes with a high level of responsibility. Many of them rose to the occasion this year creating platforms and opportunities for students to come together to learn about amazing women, honor them, and participate in these events.Coordinated by Dan Napolitano from Alfred University's Art Force 5, the 2021 Women's Empowerment Draft featured above is a SUNY-wide (State University of New York) collaboration featuring 32 college students honoring historic and living legends. The collaboration features students from Rockland Community College paying tribute to Dr. Frances E. Pratt, a RCC alumna and an incredible living legend and education advocate from Nyack, NY who served as president of the Nyack branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for 40 years.An online art exhibit, "Spectrum," features work from Rockland Community College students and alumni on expanding definitions of womanhood.Educators and Practitioners, please let us know how you were involved in this year's celebration of women and please share the wonderful tributes you've seen.Additional Notes:You can view Dr. Frances E. Pratt's full tribute from Rockland Community College here: https://youtu.be/qKkZMf_Jr2s

Vote for Science!

Class Action Collective creates visual messages to advocate for social change. Formed in 1992 at the Yale School of Art, the group aims to increase awareness and motivate citizens to take action on important social issues.Their recent initiative, Vote for Science 2020, is aimed at three key swing states: Arizona, Florida, and Virginia and the billboard campaign contrasts bible verses with a call to support science when voting and assert that the two can co-exist in a free society.The group created four different monumental typographic messages in red, white, and blue which will cycle through and spread the message in Phoenix, AZ, Orlando, FL,  Richmond, VA, and West Haven, CT through election day.View more on Instagram, follow the project and help spread the word!Sources:https://www.classactioncollective.org/vote-for-science-2020https://www.printmag.com/post/the-daily-heller-science-is-nonpartisan-knowledge-is-universal-vote?fbclid=IwAR0kjWMCQ0d4MQgnOIDlFxQeaeLt0pQXpbOcC84r019QBUDJZR3nxHM3WeA

Decolonizing Design

The notion of decolonizing design, designers, design organizations, and design education is a good one. Several initiatives have been underway that attempt to tackle the problem.Decentering Whiteness in Design History Resources has been put together by a self-described group of white design historians with the goal of decentering white people within the history of American design and the global history of design.They feel that the bibliography that they have put together is unique in that it focuses on race and ethnicity, looks at design history broadly within a wide theoretical and political range, is flexible and expansive, is thematic rather than chronologically organized, has a complete bibliography with annotations, and has a superior set of hashtags. The bibliography has a section of compelling assignments and student projects too.On another front, George Aye is tackling the problem by looking at design organizations, and primarily at one of the biggest ones around, AIGA.In his article, Dismantling White Supremacy Culture Within AIGA, featured on Medium this summer, Aye calls upon AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) to check what the "A" in AIGA stands for. Aye states that if you look at the list of medalists featured on AIGA, the organization might be ready for a rebrand with a more apt name being WAIGA (White American Institute for Graphic Artists.)In June, as Black Lives Matter protests grew, the organization proclaimed solidarity with the movement. Aye noted that AIGA did not credit or give attribution to those from the DEI taskforce, like Antionette Carroll, who publicly resigned from AIGA's board in this past December due to the organization's unwillingness to address DEI issues from within. Others involved in this work who were also ignored include Caroline Hill, Michelle, Molitor, and Christine Ortiz.Aye composed a letter to AIGA asking them to take a pause and do some deep reflecting  about what it means today to be an American designer instead of furthering white supremacy culture through their self-congratulatory cycle. His letter calls upon AIGA to look deeply into governance and operations and national strategic initiatives.As you read through the letter, you will see it's a big ask, but it's about time. If AIGA is sincere in their claim of solidarity with Black Lives Matter, it seems like they have no other choice.Sources:https://designincubation.com/design-news/decentering-whiteness-in-design-history-resources/https://medium.com/@george_aye/decolonizing-aiga-a6cc8fb8692e

Celebrating Earth Day and Students as Citizen Designers

Graphic Design students are tasked with learning about color, typography, space, and form. It's a bonus when projects can include issues of global citizenship and environmental awareness.Students at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York worked with students at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa through COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) this semester to learn about environmental issues in each other's local communities before COVID19 closed down both of their campuses.Michael Gruia and Marcela Daloia's topic was Spekboom, a carbon miracle worker indigenous to South Africa that is more effective in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the Amazon rainforest. The local community in South Africa is taking matters into their own hands and planting as much as possible. They asked Rockland Community College students to help spread the word.You can learn more about Spekboom here: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200203-the-south-african-plant-fighting-climate-changePlease let us know if you have a student project that can help spread environmental awareness.

Ethics at the Core of Practice

Designer’s ethical conversations should include a deep self-reflective process related to the decisions they are making, who they are designing for, why, and the social and environmental impact behind the artifacts they are creating.—Juanita LondonoSCAD grad and fellow alum, Juanita Londono, recently completed her thesis as a quest to explore ways in which the practice of design can be redeemed by pushing for a more ethical practice.During her research process, Londono collected data from designers as well as other disciplines, including artists, engineers, and business administrators, about what areas of ethics they thought were most important. Participants were invited to interact with this reflective process by choosing topics and creating bracelets. Londono then took their choices and visualized the data in poster format as well as translucent pieces of artwork. Viewers walked through these data creations for an immersive and interactive experience. The presentation brought to life the myriad of topics that designers are faced with, as well as summarized what issues are most important to them.As part of her research, Londono looked long-standing tenets of a designer's education like the Bauhaus, the premiere school of design during the 20th century that has long been held as the gold standard. She also looked at The Doughnut Economics model proposed by Kate Raworth. The Doughnut provided her with an idea of the complex problems and needs of society that require designers' attention.Londono discusses how much design practice has changed since the Bauhaus and the need for Design Thinking to be the new standard, one which challenges assumptions and revolves around understanding the people for whom designers are designing. She proposes that ethics be the core of a designer's practice, rather than the end result that has been standard practice, and at the core of the Bauhaus model.Londono's thesis discusses current research that has been done about the need for ethics in design. She also discusses the many ways ethics can be infused in design education, including the need to experience them in the field and away from academia and presents several case studies that can be used as models.Her findings led her to believe that an ethical baseline should be at the core of a designer's education. Introducing ethics to designers early in their education and keeping it front and center, is the best way to prepare them to address the complex problems society faces.Londono's project continues and she wants to continue to share the process of creating bracelets and collecting the results. If you'd to participate, please email her for a digital guide with instructions to create your own bracelets.Learn more about her project here: https://jlondi.com/ethics-in-design

Toppling Tropes and Decolonizing Design

Graphic designer and educator Ramon Tejada is sick and tired of the graphic design history narrative that has been traditionally taught design schools. He has taken on this challenge by creating an online open collaborative project, "The Decolonizing Design Reader." Here you will find articles and resources that challenge the traditional canons of design and a place where you can help create a new narrative.Tejada's work has been featured in the Walker Center magazine article, "How will we queer design education without compromise?" The article calls for a different approach to design education and asks educators to embrace a multiplicity of perspectives—to look at text as living things rather than just content.Changing the narrative is not a new topic of discussion in graphic design. Eye on Design recently wrote an article titled, "Why Role Models Matter: Celebrating Women of Color in Design." The article features advice from female graphic designers of color about how they approach design education and seek to empower and inspire students.Last June, Emily Gosling featured the thesis project, Led by Example, of Pratt Institute students Farah Kafei and Valentina Vergara, a campaign that tackles the gender imbalance in the design industry in an article title "How Can We Bring a More Inclusive History to Design Education?" The campaign featured events highlighting gender imbalance in the exhibit "Missing Pages," an installation highlighting women underrepresented in textbooks and "Against All Odds," a panel discussion led by women discussing the disparity in graphic design education.A few years ago designers Amelie Lamont and Timothy Goodman started the website People of Craft to showcase creatives of color and their designs, illustrations, lettering and more.In an industry that has long been underrepresented by diversity, we must actively seek ways to change the narrative. Projects like these and Tejada's Decolonizing Design Reader are a good place to start.

CAA Conversations Podcast: Ethics and Graphic Design

Conversations about ethics in graphic design are a big part of both professional practice as well as a graphic design student's education.My colleague Herman Botes and I were invited to discuss this important topic as part of "CAA Conversations Podcast." Listen to our thoughts on how to not only help students understand ethics in their work, but also how to create unique and skillful work.http://www.collegeart.org/news/2018/05/28/caa-conversations-podcast-eileen-macavery-kane-and-herman-botes/

Inspiring Ethical Graphic Designers Across the Globe

When RCC (Rockland Community College) student Sunday Oluwasomi met someone from his hometown during an online collaborative Graphic Design class, we were all excited. The distance between Suffern, NY and Pretoria, South Africa suddenly become infinitely smaller. It was truly a moment that shows how we are all connected.The ongoing classroom collaboration that I've had the pleasure of participating in with Herman Botes from TUT (Tshwane University of Technology) Pretoria, South Africa is focused on inspiring and teaching future designers to work ethically in our industry and primarily focuses on issues of Graphic Design Advocacy. Herman and I met in 2013 when I was invited to TUT to lecture on topics from my book, Ethics: A Graphic Designer's Field Guide. As a result of our meeting, we've been building bridges between our two cultures through student projects with the support of COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) ever since.Recent events include Liz Resnick's Graphic Design Advocacy exhibit at TUT, our COIL presentation in Chicago, and a podcast for CAA (College Art Association) about ethics in graphic design last month. Upcoming events include the release Educating Citizen Designers in South Africa, co-authored by Herman Botes.As our ongoing collaboration continues to grow, so does our belief in how important it is for both students and educators, as well as our gratitude for the opportunity.

Rules for School (and to live and work by)

 "Dear Design Student" is an advice blog for designers by designers. A recent post written by Mike Monteiro entitled "A Designer's Code of Ethics" hits hard at the core of design practice and what all students and educators, as well as designers, should be thinking about school is about to go back in session.Designers create a lot of ephemera during their careers. Advertisements, brochures, websites, products, and packages all have a limited shelf life and it's easy to think that what we do doesn't have a lasting effect. One of the easiest ways you can test this is if you lose your files. It has happened to me more than once, and while there is always one thing you will need, most of it you will never touch again. Students may feel the same way once they receive their grades.Monteiro offers a counterpoint to this belief when he says, "by choosing to be a designer you are choosing to impact the people who come in contact with your work, you can either help or hurt them with your actions. The effect of what you put into the fabric of society should always be a key consideration in your work."He goes onto to discuss how important the work we make is and how important it is to NOT abdicate responsibility. We need to think about what we do and where it ends up, and more importantly, who or what it represents. He states, "we need to fear the consequences of our work more than we love the cleverness of our ideas."The idea that a designer is hired for their counsel as well as their labor is extremely important. A good designer strikes a delicate balance of listening, interpreting, and advising—as well as designing. Monteiro asserts that "a designer uses their expertise in the service of others without being a servant and that "asking ourselves why we are making something is an infinitely better question than asking ourselves whether we can make it."Monteiro's article raises other issues like designing for the marginalized, or rather the common practice of not designing for them as well as diversity, competition, and self-reflection.As you get ready to go back to school or simply continue with your design practice, it's well worth the read.Source:https://deardesignstudent.com/a-designers-code-of-ethics-f4a88aca9e95

Teach our Girls to Code!

Historically, women are woefully under-represented in computing and technology fields. Today, women earn just 18 percent of tech degrees and get 11 percent of tech executive positions. This trend extends into the field of graphic design, where women hold a small percentage of the jobs in the rapidly expanding disciplines of game design, UX, UI, and web design. Research has shown that the industry would likely benefit economically, as well as socially, from an increased female presence. Equal pay for women is still an issue in the U.S. with women typically earning 79% of what men are paid, and around the world earning even less. Tapping into the tech industry would be one area where women could grain ground for equal pay, and create parity within the industry sector.In recent years, there’s been a debate about whether or not graphic designers need to know code. Some argue that it’s not necessary; stating that they simply need to design and then hand their designs off to others for coding. Others contend that employers increasingly expect their designers to have experience with front-end development and coding.In AIGA’s 2016 article “What do graphic designers need to know?” they mention that technique is the most recognizable, yet rapidly changing part of what designers know. In addition to being able to manipulate type, forms, and images for both print and digital media using contemporary software, graphic designers need to know basic programming like HTML, CSS, and Javascript.A quick look at job listings might settle the argument. Take a look at job listings on AIGA’s site or Behance and you’ll find a high number of them do require some coding skills. If you need any more convincing, take at a recent NY Times article about workers turning to coding for a career change; it’s a sellers market; companies cannot hire fast enough with the average base salary for software engineers starting at $100,000.Let’s stop arguing, and in honor of Women’s History Month, instead, let’s start encouraging the women graphic designers we know to learn code.Sources:http://girlswhocode.com/http://www.aiga.org/guide-designersneedknow/http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/01/women-and-workhttp://artbistro.monster.com/careers/articles/8794-10-fastest-growing-design-jobshttp://azraelgroup.com/should-designers-code/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/technology/code-academy-as-career-game-changer.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipadhttp://time.com/3836977/un-women-wages-and-careers/http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/

Loserville

This ad appeared recently on my local Craigs List job board under the category for graphic design. It drives home the point that working as a graphic designer is as much about proving your value, as it is about creating valuable work.In the article "29 Things Designers Need to Know + 8 Ingredients for Success," author Doug Bartow ranks:

6. LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’ Some of your best design business decisions will ultimately be saying “no” to clients or projects. Unfortunately, it usually takes a few disasters to gain the experience to know when to walk away from an impending train wreck.

Carefully measure the upsides of any project—creative control of your design work, long-term relationship-building and gross billing—versus the potential downsides—the devaluation of the creative process, being treated like a “vendor” and ongoing scope creep (where the volume of what you’re expected to deliver keeps expanding, while the schedule and budget don’t).

Who can argue with this advice? The pitfalls of crowdsourcing, spec work, and unpaid internships have been written about and discussed at length among graphic designers. However,  graphic designers and students might feel confused as they wade through articles that seem to contradict some of this advice. The 2012 info graphic, "The State of Graphic Design," is based on a survey conducted by Smartpress.com who claim aggregated the opinion of dozens of the best and most-talented graphic designers in the industry. Among the results, survey participants ranked Internships as the best way to gain experience with online tutorials as a close second, and design school coming in third. While the article doesn't specify if the internships being referred to are part of a student's education, or are paid internships—one can make the assumption that not all of them are. What's interesting is that many design jobs advertised require a Bachelor's degree; and even more interesting is that many of the participants in the survey are graduates from reputable design schools, like Jessica Walsh, a recent graduate of RISD. This leaves me wondering how many graphic designers are in a state of confusion about how to prove their own value.Recently, I was approached to design a website through a referral from another client. The new potential client was highly complimentary about my creativity and design skills, she assured me she loved my work, and I believe she was being sincere. However, when it came time to discuss the budget, she only wanted to barter. When I explained to her that I wasn't in a position to barter for services, she politely thanked me and told me she had a friend who was a graphic designer who would do the work for free. While she really wanted to work with me, she couldn't pass up the free work—leaving me feeling like I was in "Loserville."How often do you feel like you are living in "Loserville?" How do you navigate these murky waters? And most importantly, what advice do you give students and young designers who are just starting out?Sources:http://newjersey.craigslist.org/med/3722007306.htmlhttp://www.howdesign.com/design-career/29-things-young-designers-need-to-know/ 

Contests—who wins?

One young designer that I've met through this blog asked me to write an article about contests and the practice of "voting" for winners. He says, as many would agree, "that ultimately it becomes nothing more than a popularity contest between the candidates; it's really degrading for us."When companies create contests is it just a guise for crowdsourcing, free advertising, spec work? Should educators encourage or discourage contests? This is a question I've struggled with. My standard rule of thumb is that if there is an entry fee, I don't encourage it or publicize it. I also don't promote causes that I am morally opposed to. However, when looking at all the pros and cons, it can get much more complicated.Many feel that corporations that engage in online contests also benefit from all the free advertising that goes along with them. When Robyn Waxman, of FARM (Future Action Reclamation Mob,) was asked what she thought was one of the biggest ethical issues in graphic design, she said corporate sponsorships. Waxman's complaint was about corporate sponsorship of college courses and humanitarian projects. Sponsoring contests is another way that corporations enter this arena.Despite the pitfalls of contests, graphic design educators often use them as a teaching tool. Not only do they provide real world experience, they often offer the winners a prize, and at the very least, exposure. As students work to fill their portfolios with professional looking pieces, the parameters set by contests are usually on par with industry specifications. In addition to the professional experience students gain, the theme of contests are often in the area of social responsibility—making it a "win, win" for educators looking to include this topic in their syllabus, students looking to show their social conscience, and corporations looking to be seen as a social advocate.Design companies often use contests as a vehicle for self promotion. Communication Arts, AIGA, and HOW are just some of the respected design organizations that sponsor competitions. With a wide range of categories as well as different levels for entry (and fees), winning one of these competitions can bring respect from peers in the industry as well as look great on a resume. HOW even offers their readers tips on How to Win a Design Competition.If it's a "win, win" for all involved, how do you deal with the association with spec work or crowdsourcing? Do you see a substantial difference between contests and competitions? Are either of them degrading? Do you enter them? Do you encourage your students to enter them? 

The Cost of Unpaid Internships

Although most would agree that paid internships are better than unpaid, many argue that the experience a student gains during an unpaid internship makes it worth it. In fact a recent article in my local paper stated, "Unfortunately, we cannot pay our interns, but we can offer a great life-enhancing experience, in addition, an internship is a tremendous asset on your resume." (1) Design students are lured in with such promises along with the added bonus of creating professional work for their portfolio.The Economic Policy Institute offers a different view in an article entitled, "Unpaid Internships: A Scourge on the Labor Market." The article makes the point that not only are students denied compensation, the loss of associated Social Security taxes, unemployment taxes, or worker’s compensation premiums deprives these funds of needed revenue. Despite the implication of these tax losses nationwide, the federal government has failed to investigate and enforce laws against unpaid internships. Furthermore, as the unemployment rate has risen, so has the age, education level (many interns these days are professionals), and number of unpaid interns. Ironically, the oversupply of people willing to work for nothing actually damages the career prospects of the students who take them.Research done in 2011 by the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows that unpaid internships do very little for the job prospects of the students who take them. The average student who had taken an unpaid internship in a for-profit firm earned $18,000 less than students with paid internships and $3,700 less than the average student who had never taken an internship. Students who had had paid internships in the federal government received salary offers averaging $48,668; their colleagues with unpaid federal internships were offered only $33,127, on average. (2)What do you think, do you need to re-examine your thoughts about unpaid internships?Notes:(1) http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120604/NEWS/206040330&cid=sitesearch(2) http://www.epi.org/blog/unpaid-internships-scourge-labor-market/Sources: http://www.epi.org/blog/unpaid-internships-scourge-labor-market/ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/opinion/30kamenetz.html?_r=1

Encouraging Bullshit

When I was growing up my mother would often yell “bullshit” during dinner time discussions. In fact she used it so often it's become a bit of a legacy for her. Now in her 80s, those who were present for those lively discussions—typically involving politics, the Viet Nam war, women's rights, or other hot topics  during the sixties and seventies—fondly recall hearing her use her “favorite” word. As I remember it what prompted my mother to say bullshit was when anyone tried to use sensationalism, emotional appeal, fear mongering, or other tactics besides hardcore facts to win their argument.The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) medalist Paula Scher recently wrote an article for Imprint in reaction to AIGA's contest “Justified”—a design competition that will select examples of good design that are also described in terms of their effectiveness in meeting the client’s objectives. In the article, “AIGA: Unjustified,”  Scher discusses her objection to the competition which in part is due to the fact that "Justified" is AIGA's only competition and thus sets a standard for excellence that focuses solely in an area that is based on meeting client goals rather than creativity and inspiration. She goes on to describe the many ways that meeting client goals are not necessarily in sync with design innovation. In the article Scher states that “judging design work by the quality of the designer's bullshit as required in this criteria seems pointless. If the work is terrific the bullshit is irrelevant. If the work isn't terrific, but the jury is moved by the entrant's arguments, it demonstrates the dangers of bullshit. Is this something we want to encourage?” (1)Scher raises a very valid question about what the goal of the organization's competition should be— proving the value of design to clients, or inspiring designers. Who should AIGA be serving?What do you think? Should AIGA's only remaining competition be based on the value of design to the client, or by how innovative and inspiring it is to designers?Read the full article along with many comments here and Scher's follow up article, “Unjustified, Part II,” where she addresses comments and offers her own suggestion for a competition.Notes:(1) http://imprint.printmag.com/design-thinking/aiga-unjustified/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=aiga-unjustified&et_mid=548293&rid=23821332Sources:http://imprint.printmag.com/design-thinking/aiga-unjustified/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=aiga-unjustified&et_mid=548293&rid=23821332http://www.aiga.org/justified/Photo courtesy of Tristan Nitot via Flickr

Embracing Kingian Principles to Promote Nonviolence

This mural was painted on Albany Ave. in the North End of Hartford, Connecticut in November 2010. It was a Design Global Change project, an organization founded by Professor Natacha Poggio of Hartford Art School that is a creative think-tank that uses design to develop projects that bring positive change to communities around the world.The mural was inspired by the Kingian Principles of Nonviolence promoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with special attention to principle #2: "The beloved community is the frame work of the future." The painting was created in collaboration with the Connecticut Center for Nonviolence, Hartford clergy and Community Peacebuilders.Kingian Principles of Nonviolence

1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding
3. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustices, not people.
4. Nonviolence holds that suffering for a cause can educate and transform.
5. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.
6. Nonviolence holds that the universe is on the side of justice and that right will prevail.

How can you help promote nonviolence?Sources:http://designglobalchange.virb.com/http://bit.ly/zR9t50

What the heck is “good design” any way?

If you decide to look up “good” in an online dictionary the first listing that comes up shows 55 different definitions. Morally excellent, righteous, high-quality, well-behaved, kind, educated, refined, healthy, cheerful, skillfully done, and financially sound are just a few.When looking at how the word "good" is used in graphic design a wide variety of interpretations also arise.In 1975 IBM legend Thomas Watson began his lecture at the Wharton School of Business with these words, “Good Design is Good Business.” This principle has led many successful businesses to make creating strategic branding and design a priority and ultimately may have helped in them their success.Apple's founder Steve Jobs place in the business world is legendary and was founded in part on relentlessly building beautifully designed, useful things that anyone could use.Dieter Rams offers 10 Principles of Good Design for product design that include innovation, usefulness, aestethic, honest, understandable, unobtrusive, and more.David Berman's book, Do Good Design, addresses the issues of morality in graphic design. The book is an excellent resource for looking at the power that graphic design has on cultural influence.Lucienne Roberts, author of Good: An Introduction to Ethics in Graphic Design, also explores issues of morality, drawing readers into a debate about professional "goodness" versus personal "goodness" and the relationship between ethics and design practice.The magazine Good and website Good.is describe good as something that works—what is sustainable, prosperous, productive, creative, and just—for all of us and each of us.AIGA’s “Design for Good” initiative provides tools and resources for designers who work on projects that focus on addressing community needs. Their tagline says, “Changing the world may or may not work, but wouldn't you rather design trying?”In a recent post for the Daily Heller, “Design for Good or Bad,” Steven Heller raises the question of what good design is. Heller asks why designers can't practice "public good" as an integral part of design's mission without labeling it as just "good." He also brings up the point that some "bad design" may be due to lack of talent rather than an issue of morality. What does it mean if this type of "bad design" is done for good causes? Is it good, or is it bad?How should we define good design? Maybe the best thing that graphic designers can do is to delve further into each of these topics and come up with new and more specific ways to classify “good design.” If they don't, the catch-all phrase may end up diluting the message in its wake.Sources:http://www.definitions.net/definition/goodhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/06/steve-jobs-world-more-beautiful?INTCMP=SRCHhttp://www.amazon.com/Good-Ethics-Graphic-Required-Reading/dp/2940373140http://imprint.printmag.com/branding/design-for-good-or-um-bad/http://www.good.is/category/art-and-design/

Does John Williams have no empathy?

The recent Logo Garden scandal has many graphic designers up in arms. From the Action Alert sent by AIGA to warn graphic designers about possible theft and plagiarism of their logos, to the blog post "Love Thy Logo" on RockPaperInk by Bill Gardner, it is clear many are appalled.When Gardner found more than 200 of his own designs offered on the site, he documented Williams' outrageous and unethical behavior along with examples of the slight modifications of well-known logos like the identity for World Wildlife Fund and Time Warner Cable that are also on the site.Clues concerning how Williams' feels can be gleaned from his recent guest post for the entrepreneurs blog On Startups, "No Capital? No Problem. What You Get For Free Is Priceless."  He gives readers a pep talk about starting their own business and the value of organic growth. He never clearly gives them a picture of how using one of his logos fits into this picture, but goes about instilling a spirit of comraderie with them accompanied by the claim that his experience with branding led him to make an easy to use logo maker available to startups and DIYers. As Gardner asserts in his post, these startups and DIYers will most likely have no idea where the work came from or that it is not his to sell.While many may be glad that the slight modifications that Williams made to the logos may actually increase his liability by demonstrating his willful copyright infringement, what bothers some designers most is the question of how he can do this to his colleagues. As Gardner says, "You'll note I avoided going on a tirade about the issues with the $100 internet logo firms. They have foibles that too deserve penance but designers have no forgiveness for theft. Thou shall not steal another designers work."One wonders what led Williams to take this path. Was it lack of integrity, greed, or simply no empathy for his colleagues? A recent article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, 'Why Should We Care?'—What to Do About Declining Student Empathy, discusses educators' concern about a decline in student empathy. The troubling conclusion of a recent study by a team of social psychologists is that American college students have been scoring lower and lower on a standardized empathy test over the past three decades. The article talks about what the reasons for this decline may be as well techniques to improve levels of empathy. Besides the social benefits, research also links empathy in students with better academic outcomes. Educators are concerned because when used with skill, empathy can guide us to balance the needs of ourselves, those around us, and our larger social contexts with judicious care. Taking on another person's thoughts and identifying with their emotions are traits at the core of empathy. Williams disregard for what the implications of his "logo maker" are for his fellow designers makes one think that he has not considered what it would be like to walk in their shoes.What do you think is behind Williams behavior—lack of integrity, greed, or simply no empathy?Sources:http://www.aiga.org/common/newsletter/source/August2011_Action_Alert.htmlhttp://www.rockpaperink.com/content/column.php?id=88http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/54498/No-Capital-No-Problem-What-You-Get-For-Free-Is-Priceless.aspxhttp://chronicle.com/article/Why-Should-We-Care-What/128420/

Students on the "Road to Hell"

Graphic design students will wrestle with many ethical issues in their careers. If they aren't already aware of image usage rights, design plagiarism, and issues of sustainability the courses they take will no doubt touch upon these topics at one time or another. However some of the biggest ethical issues that they will face in their careers are the choices they must make in order to make a living.Sérgio Manuel Neves is a recent graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon. He explored the topic of "ethos" and "ethics" in graphic design for one his projects this past spring. The publication that he created, Ethics: Graphic Design In Takes includes excerpts from authors on the topic of ethics in graphic design and designers like Milton Glaser, creator of the chart "12 Steps on the Graphic Designer's Road to Hell."What might surprise some people is that in his essay, "The Road to Hell," Milton Glaser states that he personally has taken a number of the steps on the chart he created. Others, like author Mark Johnson, wouldn’t be surprised. In his book Moral Imagination, Johnson states that we would be morally irresponsible to think and act as if we possess a universal reason that generates absolute rules, decision‐making procedures, and universal or categorical laws by which we can tell right from wrong in any situation we encounter. According to Johnson, absolute moral laws ignore what’s truly important about the concept of morality, to achieve imaginative dimensions of moral understanding that make it possible for us to determine what’s really important in any given situation or relationship and to make wise decisions accordingly. The ability to reach these decisions requires exploration, discussion, and imagination.Where are you on the “Road to Hell” and what do you think is the best way to prepare students for the choices they must make?Listen to the "Design Matters" Milton Glaser Podcast Interview by Debbie Millman where he talks about the road to hell.Sources:http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0802/gla/Mark Johnson, Moral Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science forEthics (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1993), 5.http://designobserver.com/observermedia/audiofile.html?entry=8927

Fish Tales

Y'see, most men, they'll tell a story straight through, it won't be complicated, but it won't be interesting either. —Edward Bloom (from the movie "Big Fish")

The fictional character from "Big Fish," Edward Bloom, spent most of his life as a traveling salesman. Known for his gift of storytelling, the statement that he makes to his son, a journalist in search of truth, nicely sums up the conundrum of graphic designers. Getting a message across by creating visual interest through unique and compelling imagery is our job. Is this possible when telling a story straight through without providing any embellishments?In an interview for Lucienne Roberts' book, Good: Ethics of Graphic Design, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, Anthony Grayling, says that he feels asking graphic designers not to persuade is like asking fishermen not to fish—it’s what we are trained to do.In the essay "Advocating Ethical Design" David Berman, graphic designer and author of Do Good Design, contends that on the contrary, it's a graphic designer's responsibility to take the time to understand the mechanics of persuasion and use it responsibly—he feels anything else are visual lies, and deadly.Berman believes people are much more influenced by things that look real as opposed to symbology and feels that the laws and rules of society and declared through words, not pictures, make it easier to get around a law with the vagueness of pictures.This debate is not new, it's a topic that's been discussed by graphic designers for years. However what Berman is particularly concerned with is how ethics apply to graphic design on the web. If the battle is being waged to make graphic designers more ethically responsible, how can this message be spread to the DIY population—those untrained in graphic design who write, upload, and create their own work and post it directly online? According to Berman, “Designers tend to underestimate how much power they have. They’re culpable.” He estimates that within a decade, the majority of humanity will be able to publish information on the web. And that’s why almost everyone needs to know something about ethical web design.Another essay on the Digital Ethics website, Digital Ethics and Kids, discusses the responsibility of teaching digital ethics in the home. They contend that children who are raised in families who have no moral or ethical knowledge will not make ethical decisions with their use of digital media and that they won't even realize if they are doing right or wrong.What do you think? Does the web make the responsibility of graphic designers any different and how much responsibility do they bear? Should the push for digital ethics be made at home, toward graphic designers, or both?Sources:http://www.finestquotes.com/movie_quotes/movie/Big%20Fish/page/0.htmhttp://digitalethics.org/2011/05/20/essay-advocating-ethical-designhttp://digitalethics.org/2011/06/14/essay-digital-ethics-and-kids/