Monday, October 1

the coat is officially out of the closet

I had been avoiding my new lovely gray coat. Because putting it on means I am entering the 7 month season that in my mind should last only 2.

In one of my design classes last week we watched Cesky Sen, a Czech documentary that two film students created about the power of advertising. In the film they trick thousands into going to a new hypermarket that actually doesn't exist, through smart advertising. It is very interesting, you should see it. After viewing the film our class discussed designing adverstising. Our teacher asked, "Is there anything you wouldn't design for?"

Is there anything I wouldn't design for? I was surprised I hadn't thought about this before, but when I started thinking about a list of items or ideas I wouldn't want to support as a designer, the count was short. There are two camps. One says "If someone is going to design for Camel cigarettes, it might as well be me, as a Christian designer I could make the decision to put no bikinis in an ad and could be a positive influence on that industry." The other opinion is that you simply don't work to promote something you don't agree with. For example, formatting layouts for a cigarette company could be furthering someone's addiction, and whether or not you agree with smoking, by designing, you are behind what that company promotes.

Then there is the question of how much and what kind of involvement is enough or too much. I haven't had this conflict come up in my little design experience, but it's another question I wish could be answered simply for me. I'm not going to design for Camel but how many companies are really integrity full? What do you think?

(back to my waffle and berries)

1 comment:

travis said...

i really think that by associating yourself and designing with a company and a product that you don't necessarily agree with, you are endorsing the company and product simply by association. and true, you may have the ability to steer it in a more responsible direction, but simply designing something more morally ethical for a company does not change the underlying principles of said company/product.

that said, i feel like you have to pick your battles though. truthfully, you'll probably find something that doesn't agree with your morals regardless of who the client is.

i was bummed that i didn't see you at either the bonfire or the brew and stew. we'll have to catch up some more next time i'm in town and maybe go to a place that fosters more than a 5 minute uninterrupted conversation.