4/28/21 4/28/21

The Power of Advertising

When times get tough, advertising is often the first budget to be cut. However, a quick look at history offers a different point of view and how powerful it can be.After World War II advertising played a huge role in establishing single use plastic. Advertising from this era convinced people how inconvenient returning glass was all while manufacturers of plastic worked hard to make it thinner and more fragile, establishing our firm and unshakable relationship with the disposable. As Odile Madden, a conservation scientist at the Getty Conservation Institute states, “We were trained to buy this stuff, these identical, multiple objects that are meant to be used for a short period of time and then replaced with an identical one ― and that took cultural training."Looking further into this topic reveals more contributors to the cycle. The anti-littering campaigns that followed were started by a consortium of industry groups who wanted to divert people's attention away from legislation to control industrial polluters, much bigger culprits than American consumers. The "Keep America Beautiful" campaign shifted the focus away from production on a grand scale, to consumers, who were a much smaller part of the problem.In recent years, the United Nations has put forth 17 Sustainable Development Goals. #14 is "Life Below Water" with the mission of conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. One of the positive implications of COVID-19 has been the drastic reduction in human activity, providing a chance for our oceans to recuperate.Graphic designers working in advertising may not be as powerful as the industries they work for, however, they should be aware of the role they play and question what they are being asked to do. The messages they create can pack a powerful punch, both for and against our environment. June 8 has been designated World Oceans Day. Let's create messages that celebrate our oceans and call for their preservation and use advertising to help heal our planet, rather than destroy it.Sources:https://sdgs.un.org/goals https://www.marketingsociety.com/the-clubroom/rethinking-role-plastic-and-marketing https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2006/05/origins-anti-litter-campaigns/https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2017/10/26/a-beautiful-if-evil-strategy https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-top-10-most-dangerous-ads/http://www.technomarketinginc.com/marketing-budgets-cut/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vintage-ads-plastic_n_5cdb1768e4b01e9bd3540ffa

6/6/17 6/6/17

Online Engagement (aka Designing a Slot Machine)

Making an impact online is all about engagement. According to Kara Swisher of "Recode Decode," it's often assumed that making an impact is positive. In an interview with Tristan Harris, Swisher says that in her experience, many of those involved in designing online engagement don't give much thought to what type of impact they are making.Tristan Harris left his job as a Design Ethicist at Google to lead Time Well Spent, a non-profit movement with the mission of "reclaiming our minds from the race for attention. Their goal is to look at how business models, user habits, and design can be changed to measure success by how much engagement benefits people's lives, rather than just how much engagement is generated. The question for all involved in creating online engagement should be, "How do you ethically shape the thoughts and actions that will appear in a billion people's minds today?"Harris talks about how the experience of checking our phone is akin to playing a slot machine. The randomness and timing of what appears in our social media and news feed are deliberate to keep us hooked—just like those who are hooked on playing the slots. Research about addiction to gambling focuses on the psychological, biological, and morality of gambling addicts—but some studies have shown that the real problem may be the slot machines themselves. Contrary to what we may think about the allure of the thrill and risk associated with gambling, slot machines provide people with a false sense of safety and security. According to Harris, our experience with our apps is not much different—giving us a false sense of safety and security while presenting us with a multitude of opportunities to squander both time and money.Graphic designers bear much of the responsibility for the design of our online experiences, and subsequently, also the consequences. We need to look at all the implications of our designs, and in the process, aim to answer some of Harris' questions:

How do we make sure designers use the wisest moral operating system when making choices on our behalf?
How do they distinguish between what’s good for business and what’s good for society – or even navigate these situations clearly?
How do we align their design goals with our goals for how we want to live life?
How do they catch and minimize unintended negative social and behavioral externalities?
How do we hold designers accountable for their influence over people’s choices?

Sources:http://www.tristanharris.com/the-need-for-a-new-design-ethics/http://www.timewellspent.io/https://www.recode.net/2017/2/7/14542504/recode-decode-transcript-time-well-spent-founder-tristan-harris https://newrepublic.com/article/115838/gambling-addiction-why-are-slot-machines-so-addictive http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Slot-Machine-Win-Game-Play-Casino-Gambling-602976

9/13/15 9/13/15

Fashion Week: It’s Complicated

New York Fashion Week kicked off this past Thursday, and with it some complicated topics graphic designers are very familiar with:

Design Plagiarism

High fashion brand Saint Laurent is showcasing a dress with graphic lipstick prints that retails for $3,490 - but looks a lot like a dress from Forever 21’s 2013 collection that sold for $23. Saint Laurent is most likely safe from being sued for copyright infringement because copyright law prohibits the protection of a design if it can only be depicted in a limited number of ways— tubes of lipstick may fall into this category. However, it doesn't protect them from being called out for it.

Social Awareness

As New York Fashion Week Live reports, “one of the great ironies of fashion is the disconnect between the beauty of the products, and the way the materials are often sourced.” Consumers are increasingly demanding more humane treatment of animals and people, as well as the use of more eco-friendly materials. Fashion designers are responding and young designers like Max Gengos, are embracing the concept of “responsible luxury” when deciding on which materials to use and the conditions in which their products are produced.

Sustainability

We live in a culture of disposability. This extends to “fast fashion,” where cheap garments are produced quickly to keep up with trends. America buys 20 billion garments a year, 1 item per person per week. This results in 12.7 million tons of clothing thrown away each year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that textile waste occupies nearly 5% of all landfill space and 85% of textile waste is not recycled. Ultimately this leads to overtime, overcrowding, and unsafe conditions for overseas workers employed to keep up with the demand.

Cultural Influence

Celebrities like Emma Watson and fashion designer Stella McCartney are speaking out in campaigns like this recent one for British Vogue on Fashion and Gender Equality, demanding empowerment for women and a better message for women of all ages and sizes, allowing them to feel good about who they are.As we enjoy the glamor of New York Fashion Week, we may also do well to consider the complicated relationships surrounding beauty and image.Sources:http://newyorkfashionweeklive.com/http://www.thefashionlaw.com/https://www.notjustalabel.com http://www.ecouterre.com/http://www.elle.com/http://www.weardonaterecycle.org/

5/25/14 5/25/14

Monetizing Memorials

The 9/11 Museum opened last week in Manhattan amid a storm of controversy. Designed to remember the horrors of 9/11, many feel the steep $24 admission fee, along with the crass commercialism of the gift shop, has gone too far.With Milton Glaser’s famous “I Love NY” logo in somber tones of black and blue, the Museum Store features a wide range of memorabilia for sale. T-shirts, jewelry, ornaments, magnets, stuffed animals, books, and umbrellas are among the items being sold—at the same sacred site where the remains of 1,115 unidentified victims lie.Among the outraged are family members of the victims. Diane Horning, who never recovered the remains of her son, Matthew, 26, a database administrator for Marsh & McLennan and an aspiring guitarist, told the New York Post she is appalled:“Here is essentially our tomb of the unknown. To sell baubles I find quite shocking and repugnant. I think it's a money-making venture to support inflated salaries, and they're willing to do it over my son's dead body.” (1)New York’s memorial and museum cost more than $700 million to build. Financed by government agencies and private donations, supporters assert that the gift shop exists to provide a a stream of revenue that is needed for operations in addition to the admission fee. The next steps for the museum include plans to open a café by Danny Meyer this summer. While gift shops and cafeterias go hand-in-hand with museums, this news has outraged many. Meyer is CEO of Union Square Hospitality Ground which operates famous Manhattan eateries like Blue Smoke, Gramercy Tavern, and the Shake Shack. Meyer’s states that they are not doing it for commercial reasons, but rather to provide a relaxing and comfortable environment where visitors can experience local and seasonal fare. He also asserts that the café will pay the museum a “significantly above-market” rent and a percentage of proceeds. Opponents still feel opening a café at the site of burnt fire trucks and human ashes is in very bad taste.Other museums like the Pearl Harbor Museum and the Holocost museum have gift shops and charge admission using the money to support itself.“A historic museum is much like a church; you have to have income to survive,” says Kari Watkins, the executive director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. “For those stories to be told, for those lights to be turned on, for that water to flow, you have to make income.” Her museum welcomes 200,000 visitors a year and derives 25 percent of its revenue from its gift store. (2)Some ask why these standard practices at the 9/11 Memorial have caused such a reaction. With less than 15 years passed since the horrific attacks, is it just too soon?Notes:(1) http://politix.topix.com/story/12134-the-9-11-museum-charges-24-admission-and-has-a-gift-shop-victims-families-are-outraged(2) http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-23/the-9-11-gift-shop-sells-tacky-tchotchkes-because-well-buy-themSources:http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-23/the-9-11-gift-shop-sells-tacky-tchotchkes-because-well-buy-them http://nypost.com/2014/05/22/911-museums-planned-comfort-food-cafe-is-inappropriate/http://nypost.com/2014/05/21/in-bad-taste-911-memorial-museum-opening-danny-meyer-restaurant/http://politix.topix.com/story/12134-the-9-11-museum-charges-24-admission-and-has-a-gift-shop-victims-families-are-outraged http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/what-you-can-buy-at-the-911-museum-gift-shop/2014/05/20/93da3c42-e03e-11e3-9442-54189bf1a809_video.html

6/13/13 6/13/13

Take the Pledge

Some of you may recognize this three finger pledge from your Girl Scout days when you were asked to recite the Girl Scout Law:I will do my best to behonest and fair,friendly and helpful,considerate and caring,courageous and strong, andresponsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others,respect authority,use resources wisely,make the world a better place, andbe a sister to every Girl Scout.The three fingers stand for 1) honoring God, 2) helping others, and 3) obeying Scout Law. Graphic designer and author David Berman feels graphic designers should take a pledge of their own—one that focuses on the second principle,helping others. Berman recently released a new edition of his book, “Do Good ~~Design.~~” Along with its release, he has asked graphic designers to take the pledge and:1. Be true to their profession2. Be true to themselves3. Use 10% of their professional time to create a better placeDuring a live interview at the recent “Voices That Matter” conference, Berman said his mission is to first talk to designers about how much influence the work they do has on our world. He uses the environmental crisis as an example and its connection to over-consumption, speaking about the role that advertising and graphic design have in promoting a consumer culture. Berman believes once graphic designers realize how much power they have in influencing people, they will understand how they can use some of this power to make the world a better place. In doing the math, Berman feels there’s a potential for 8 million hours of time from designers that can be devoted to doing good. He has already has received over 112,540 hours in pledges.Berman’s position is one that is that has been debated widely. What is the role of a graphic designer and what is good design? Is it to simply create beautiful and effective things, or is it, as Berman and many others feel, to do good with? What do you think, are you willing to take the pledge?Sources:http://www.davidberman.com/social/dogood/http://www.girlscouts.org/program/basics/promise_law/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_sign_and_salute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtnazQE7RPA

8/6/10 8/6/10

IKEA—great design or planned obsolescence?

When browsing through all the products, space savers, unique designs that IKEA stores showcase, one eventually discovers that most of the furniture and products do not carry the signature of enduring craftsmanship. The majority of the furniture is a quick solution for people without a lot of space, time, or money, or in other words, for most of Western humanity. The unsubstantial wooden slabs and wobbly table tops are a marketing ploy—the furniture is not supposed to last—and consumers are comfortable with this. The argument that IKEA’s popularity is due to answering consumers’ needs is a short sighted one. IKEA is not an answer; it is a fix. When consumers buy an IKEA product they are buying a fashion product—fleeting, temporal, trendy. Trends change faster and faster as the ‘need’ for consumers to spend accelerates. The problem with mass produced consumer goods is not that they are cheap or even practical, but when critically evaluated as answers to what consumers want, they are little more than quick fixes for expected growing consumer needs. The unsubstantial products age and break and the need for replacements emerge.IKEA is just one example of planned obsolescence. Look around and you'll find plenty of products that are designed for a short shelf life.Source:http://social-activism.suite101.com/article.cfm/ikea_and_consumption