RANT: design and social change

I've found this article interesting, so much so that I've gone back and read it several times today, checked out all of the links to the various design campaigns it talks about, and even labored through the seemingly endless comments section. Clearly, the topic relates to what I aim to do. The criticism seems, if overly harsh and a bit exaggerated, to be at least founded on a good question. Who do we think we are, as designers, delving into the field of social change, lauding ourselves as the profession that can change the world? (Isn't that, though, a claim made by all professions?)

I looked at the Glaser posters, and (while agreeing with the criticisms of those posters as being out-dated in concept and in design), I also noticed something else - the first mistake in marketing for a cause: no call to action. Or rather, a substantially weak one. Go to this website. For what? For more posters? To buy a poster? The futility of messages like "Save the Planet" or "Oppose the War" are in their vagueness. How? By doing what? Yes, I want to save the planet. Where do I start? I have to credit the author of "Robin Hood Marketing" for that knowledge.

Still, I'm an artist turned graphic designer turned MPA student. The arguments that Wolff raised are especially pertinent to me, because obviously I believe that design can bring about positive social change. I see myself, in one version of the future, working on campaigns for non-profits and socially-minded organizations. On the other hand, I realize I'd still be feeding into the same 3000-ads-per-day mess there already is. Hell, at the gas station the other day a speaker attached to the pump started blaring out an advertisement right in my face, thank god the thing had a mute button. So the question remains, is yet another poster/banner ad/website/facebook group going to make a damn bit of difference at all?

Still, good design is hard enough to come by as it is, I know I can at least bring my skills to a socially-oriented organization that would not otherwise have much of an opportunity to cast their voice out into that mess.

Though designers everywhere are chattering on and on about how The Poster is Dead and The Internet Changes Everything, still, I believe that some old principles apply. One being that good design attracts attention. Period. If I may laud myself here by using one of my projects as an example, posters I designed for a dance night hosted by my salsa group did indeed bring people out -- several people at the event said they found out about it through the posters. Even when competing against all the other crap stapled up on the bulletin boards around campus and downtown, still, the posters had an effect. How much of an impact is, admittedly, nearly impossible to measure.

And I agree with Michael Beirut (as I often do). Design is not about design, though many designers would believe it so. It's not about typography, color palette, layout, proportions; it's not about the tricks and tools. And that's where I think designers often get lead astray when designing for a social cause. Often it's done pro bono, often it's a project done alone, self-initiated. Of course the designer is going to let loose on all the design skills they have, it's time to shine. No client to please, no real results to defend or measure. The message is taken for granted, it's a Good Cause, and that Good Cause is simply the avenue the designer uses to practice her tricks and feel good about herself at the same time.

I've seen ugly but effective posters. I've seen beautiful crap (an otherwise brilliant postcard for an exhibition completely failed to mention the start and end times of the event). The point is that at the end of the day, it's not the design that matters much at all. It's supposed to be the invisible field (though being ignorant of it is dangerous on so many levels). Design is a supporting field, not a core field, it supports others in doing their jobs, it is not intrinsically valuable. Or at least, it's intrinsic (aesthetic) value should never overshadow it's manifest purpose.