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/

The company we keep

"The company we keep" is a heading often used by graphic design firms when they display their client list. Under this warm and fuzzy title they list clients that they are proud to do business with—and in the process build their credibility and status through association. But what about the other side of our business, vendors—printers, programmers, and other service providers—are we as quick to post that list? Unfortunately for many of us these decision are often driven by cost, convenience, and ignorance; we simply don't have the time, or take the time to find out more about our vendors.David Airey is one graphic designer who is walking the walk. He has decided to boycott GoDaddy because of CEO Bob Parson's big game hunting escapades and inhumane treatment of elephants—and then bragging about it by posting a video of the slaughter.Read Airey's blog post about it here: David Airey: Boycotting GoDaddy. Then find out more about the company that you keep. Is it an association that you want to brag about? 

Encouraging Social Responsibility

Design Ignites Change supports designers and architects who are addressing pressing social issues. Participants are encouraged to apply design thinking to problems that exist in their own communities. Two mentoring initiatives, Create! Don’t Hate and School: by Design are designed to create an opportunity for professional designers and college students to collaborate with underserved high school students to execute projects around compelling social themes.This year's award winners include organizations tackling immigration reform, childhood obesity, obstacles facing those afflicted with autism, and empowering the homeless. Read about the winners and their projects here: Design Ignites Change 2010 Cycle 2 Award WinnersSource: http://designigniteschange.org/pages/2-about

What's in a name?

Ethics hit home last week when I became personally involved in a case of artistic freedom vs. social responsibility, professional integrity, and branding."East End Stories" is a photo essay about people who live or work in the east end of Newburgh, NY. I was inspired to create the series after reading about a mother who lost her son to gang violence when he was only 16. The criteria for those interviewed and photographed was that they have a connection to the location where the FBI had a major gang takedown in May 2010. Everyone interviewed knew my intentions and everyone was asked about how gang violence has affected them. Throughout the project its name was "Living in Gangland."When I completed the work and the exhibit was announced with the title "Living in Gangland" there was an uproar on a community blog. Mudslinging, name calling, personal attacks ensued - it got ugly. With my professional background in branding, I was accused of intentionally marketing Newburgh as "gangland." Since I don't live in Newburgh, I was accused of being a carpetbagger. I also had supporters who urged me to keep the title in the name of truth and artistic freedom and not cave in to censorship.I sifted through this onslaught of feedback—mean, nasty, and irrelevant, along with some that was intelligent and valid. I debated the ethics of the situation; was I just being honest, or could it be seen as exploitative? Was I unintentionally branding the city negatively, or was I being socially responsible in directing attention to people that might otherwise go unnoticed?The old name certainly passed the "Design ROI" test—it was relevant, original, and interesting. In fact when I changed the name and needed help transferring files to the new website, two separate tech people at GoDaddy were quite interested in "Living in Gangland." They immediately wanted to know what the site was about; that's never happened to me when calling for tech help, ever. Even though "East End Stories" passed the "Design ROI" test for relevant and original—it wasn't quite interesting as "Living in Gangland." I had to weigh whether or not the power and irony of the name was integral to the work, or whether it might be unethical to ignore the community's claim that it would be branding their homes with a powerfully negative label and subsequently lower their real estate values.In the end I decided to change the name. It was a matter of respect—respect for the people I photographed—they don't need the added burden of what a negative label might bring. The new name may not be the attention-getter that the old one was, but the new name is equally truthful, even if it's not quite as interesting.

Students and pro bono work

"The Role of Graphic Design in Social Awareness," "Issues in Design," and "Can Design Touch Someone's Heart?" are all graphic design courses with the common theme of creating pro bono work (volunteer work done “for the public good”) to teach social responsibility. As AIGA Philadelphia and others are taking a pledge to support paid internships, where does pro bono work done by students fit in? Nonprofit organizations clearly have a need. Organizations like DesigNYC partner designers with nonprofit groups in New York City to create pro bono work on a local level to benefit the city. The Ad Council has been working with volunteers from the advertising and communications industries since 1942 to create public service campaigns to effect positive change in the lives of Americans. Other organizations like Design Global Change have a similar mission, sending students to India and Africa to create design that will effect change and create a better world.Students gain valuable experience designing brand identities, packaging, poster design, and more by working pro bono for nonprofit organizations. They can also fill out their portfolio with "real" work. Is this any different than student internships that are unpaid? If so, why?

Poster Projects for Social Responsibility

Posters are a popular way for artists and designers use their skills to create awareness and raise money for organizations on both the local level and internationally. "The Haiti Poster Project" is a collaboration of artists and designers from around the world. Signed and numbered, limited edition posters have been donated to raise money that will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.In 2005 "The Hurricane Poster Project" was a collaborative design effort created after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The project produced over 180 different limited-edition series of posters, raising about $50,000.Working on an individual basis, in 2002 designer Chaz Maviyane-Davies created a poster a day to raise awareness about the issues involved in the Zimbabwe presidential elections. For a month Maviyane-Davies produced around 42 images called ‘Portal of Tuth’ to protest Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party who hid rights abuses in legislation using laws to dismember and disenfranchise the citizenry of Zimbabwe. The full series can be seen here.For more than twenty years Maviyane-Davies' work has taken on issues of consumerism, health, nutrition, social responsibility, the environment and human rights.

FARM's Sponsorship Appeal

Corporate sponsorships are often used by educational institutions as an alternate stream of revenue. Proponents claim that it allows them to keep classes running and that the corporations rarely get involved in defining curriculum. Critics contend that it compromises the integrity of the curriculum and ends up serving as an endorsement for products and services. In some cases the corporations also ask for the rights to the intellectual property produced by the students in the class.FARM (Future Action Reclamation Mob) began as Robyn Waxman's MFA thesis project. The project is an alternative form of non-violent protest and reclaims public space to build community, provides services for underserved and transient populations, and rehabilitates toxic land. During the project Kraft/Triscuit contacted Waxman through a nonprofit urban farm organization. They wanted to corporately sponsor the San Francisco FARM so they could use it for advertising... to show their engagement in ‘humanitarian’ projects. In exchange they would give them soil, seeds, and a part time gardener. Waxman said this would have been the cheapest advertising opportunity money could buy—especially since they get dirt, seeds and a workforce via donations and volunteering. After brief consideration, Waxman responded by letting them know exactly how she felt about a company that peddles diabetic-causing food to (mostly) children wanting to associate themselves with an organic urban farm... as if they actually built it.Where do you weigh in on corporate sponsorships? Do you think there's a place for them in education?

Teaching Social Responsibility: "Water for India"

In January 2009, Hartford Art School Professor Natacha Poggio and a team of six art and design students traveled to Abheypur, India to implement the “Water for India” sanitation campaign as partners to the work of the “Engineers Without Borders” Student Chapter at the University of Hartford.“Water for India” aims to convey the importance of cleanliness, sharing, and respect for water resources through a painted mural at the girls’ primary school, coloring books with sanitation tips, and t-shirts featuring the logo.What began as an assignment in the Spring of 2008 for a class called “Issues in Design” grew into an ongoing effort after receiving feedback from Abheypur’s villagers. Since the start of the project, the students worked collaboratively on this wide-reaching project with other disciplines, team members and cultures and in 2009 the "Water for India" campaign placed third in the AIGA (Re)design Awards.The students and Professor Poggio have continued using design as a way to educate and empower people. The social consciousness and awareness of those involved grew through the process of research and learning to design for a more universal audience. The mission was extended in the next session of “Issues in Design” where the students worked on a new wellness campaign designing “kangas” (traditional cotton garments that Sub-Saharan women wear) for local communities in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya.Professor Poggio continues to teach “Issues in Design” along with a special topics class called “Design Global Change” (DGC) which evolved into an organization which focuses on global design projects.Where else do you think opportunities exist to use design to teach social responsibility?