Design Manifesto
COMD351: Writing for Design, VUW School of Design 2020
Design is a discipline that connects people regardless of age, culture, values and personal identity. Design communicates ideas beyond language, and values beyond culture. It is a tool that can improve our standard of living even beyond borders if we push hard enough. Design isn’t just about “stuff”, but the intent and message behind it. Therefore, design has the power to change the world, if wielded with the right intentions. There are many messages design can help push: equality, sustainability, fairness for all. These messages are desperately needed in society more than ever before.
As designers in today’s modern digital scape, we can reach almost every corner of the globe with our ever-increasing influence. Language becomes superfluous; design speaks for itself in its own graphic, universal tongue that we may interpret and relate to differently. Yet it still communicates itself and its purpose in a way we can all understand.
Thanks to the internet and our newly developed instant gratification culture, the world is not only watching us, but is content-hungry for new ideas and points of view. So, let’s give the people what they want. Let’s use this opportunity for the better.
To make a difference and communicate these direly needed messages effectively, designers should:
To make a difference and communicate these direly needed messages effectively, designers should:
Design with integrity.
Design is a powerful tool for change, and we should always use it for only the best of intentions, even when we think no one is watching (spoiler alert: someone always is).
Design is a powerful tool for change, and we should always use it for only the best of intentions, even when we think no one is watching (spoiler alert: someone always is).
Design with transparency.
Always be open and honest about the purpose and nature of a design with your entire audience. Likewise, be open about the things you lack. It is not weak to recognise your short comings.
Always be open and honest about the purpose and nature of a design with your entire audience. Likewise, be open about the things you lack. It is not weak to recognise your short comings.
Design with fairness, without fear.
Don’t be afraid to fail; starting over with experience and knowledge is better than starting with none. Don’t be afraid to give credit where credit is due.
Don’t be afraid to fail; starting over with experience and knowledge is better than starting with none. Don’t be afraid to give credit where credit is due.
Design with the past.
Research and learn from the past: your culture, country, heritage. Become inspired to build on and innovate those ideas. Your ancestors must have done something right for you to be here, reading this!
Research and learn from the past: your culture, country, heritage. Become inspired to build on and innovate those ideas. Your ancestors must have done something right for you to be here, reading this!
Design whatever.
Design itself is subjective, as is personal taste. There is no true “bad design” as long as your heart and mind are in the right place. Break the rules – they were designed to be broken!
Design itself is subjective, as is personal taste. There is no true “bad design” as long as your heart and mind are in the right place. Break the rules – they were designed to be broken!
Writing Exercise – Reflective Practice
COMD351: Writing for Design, VUW School of Design 2020
Having a routine design process is essential; knowing the process you should go through before you even start a new project saves time while yielding better results. My design process for the enamel pins that I design and sell through my self-run online business is one that I’ve practiced and honed down to a few key steps, allowing me to use my time more effectively. I will explain my process in the context of my latest collection of pin designs, in which the goal was to design and produce a new series of pins for customers to purchase.
I started by researching what designs already existed in the market and which were most popular and/or successful. I believe that market research and identifying the ‘gaps’ are always the most important thing. It’s also good practice so you don’t accidentally create a design that’s very similar to someone else’s. Once I know what exists, it’s easy to identify gaps and see what’s missing that customers might be very interested in. After researching this, I started brainstorming ideas. I also make sure to research concepts thoroughly; I never want to offend anyone or appropriate anything with my pin designs so it’s important to research thoroughly rather than making assumptions or stereotyping. For this series, I decided to use a ‘Seven Heavenly Virtues’ concept. I made sure to research the concept well so that I didn’t include anything that people might be offended by. I started sketching ideas until I found 7 different pin designs that I was happy with. I then redrew those sketches in Adobe Illustrator using vectors, before taking the designs into Adobe Photoshop to fix up lines and corners. Once I’d finished all the designs, I released them to my audience on Instagram one-by-one to gauge public reaction.
The public response and how that translates to sales is generally always surprising. For this project, the public response to my Seven Heavenly Virtues series was overwhelmingly positive; I got a lot of likes and comments, and gained a lot of followers. However, to my surprise, getting these designs funded was quite difficult this time round due to the time of year (Christmas). Next time I release designs for preorder, I’ll make sure to list them at better times of the year.
Reflecting on my design practice, it does save me a lot of time and creates better outcomes. I would like to take my thorough design process for pin-making and try to apply that to my other design projects, both in and out of University. Planning and research should account for 50% of any project, and sometimes I’m guilty of not planning enough. I hope that by applying the same process that I use for designing and making enamel pins that I can improve my other design practices.
Writing Exercise - Art Writing
COMD351: Writing for Design, VUW School of Design 2020
Attirement of the Bride (1940) by Max Ernst is a surrealist oil painting that arguable depicts elements of Ernst’s own life in a whimsical and monstrous manner. The painting depicts a bride (said to be Ernst’s own bride-to-be, Peggy Guggenheim, whom he married in 1941) in a primitive, owl-like headdress and cloak. An eerie birdman figure is half perched on an almost hidden stool to the bride’s left, holding a phallic-like spear aimed towards her genitals. Ernst often depicted himself as a bird, as it was his alter ego and sexual fantasy.
A woman with reptilian qualities (such as a frilled veil and bulging neck) stands higher to the bride’s right, arching forward to make eye contact whilst the bride pushes her aside, not intimidated. This woman may represent Leonora Carrington, a woman whom Ernst was having an affair with before and throughout his marriage with Guggenheim, but never married.
In my opinion, the piece represents Ernst’s psyche at this time in his life; like the birdman stepping onto the stool, Ernst used his socialite bride Guggenheim as a steppingstone to enter the New York art scene. Possibly he blindsided Guggenheim (as the bride is portrayed with only one human eye) into playing some sort of game, as suggested be the maze-like corridors and chess board flooring. Ernst was not only the creator, but a player, and both Guggenheim and Carrington got caught in his games.
Ernst believed that painting helped him overcome emotional trauma. Like the Freudian theories he subscribed to, his unconscious guilt shines through in this painting, as he reveals truths he himself may not have been aware of.
Writing Exercise - Pitch Writing
COMD351: Writing for Design, VUW School of Design 2020
Pitch: The Award-Winning Architecture of Parasite
Parasite (2019) was one of the most awarded and successful films of 2019, to much of Hollywood’s surprise. But why should a “foreign” film’s success be so shocking? This is a proposal for an expository interview for Dezzen.com with Parasite’s director Bong Joon-ho, entitled “The Award-Winning Architecture of Parasite”.
Parasite is a Korean film that won plenty of awards over the 2019-2020 awards circuit, including the Palm d’Or and Academy Awards Best Picture. But what makes the film so compelling apart from the acting is that its ideas and themes are presented from a profoundly different and creatively blunt point of view.
The interview with Bong would explore what makes the film so brilliant in the context of the film’s design: set design, shot composition, editing, rhythm and pacing, even the storyline and writing itself, and how these mastered techniques combine to create an uncomfortable atmosphere and reinforce confronting themes.
Parasite isn’t just a movie; it’s a work of art with deep-running social themes that are prevalent in today’s society more than ever. The film’s language and its non-traditional success also accidentally contributes to its themes which makes the viewer question themself. Through its design, Parasite has managed to capture the hearts of millions, helping to pave the way in Western cinemas and award circuits for not just Asian cinema, but non-English language films and beyond.
Riposte – A quick retaliatory response
CCDN271: Design in Context, VUW School of Design 2019
Title of chosen text: You can’t copyright culture, but damn I wish you could
Cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciate is one of the largest societal issues that people- especially artists, designers, and young people- discuss. It seems that every week there’s another viral tweet or article that discusses someone (typically a white person) appropriating someone else’s culture. Nicole Hawkins’ article brings to light some examples of cultural appropriation in our own country that, I admit, I hadn’t really thought about before.
As New Zealanders, we have a very strong identity – we all sing the national anthem in both languages, we grow up learning basic Te Reo in school, it’s the norm for a group of people to do some kind of haka. Māori culture and New Zealand culture are inexplicably wound together. But where is the line between appropriation and appreciation to those who are not Māori?
In terms of art and design, I agree without doubt with Hawkins: “Māori stories should be told by Māori, or at the very least, in collaboration with Māori, who are paid fairly for their time and expertise.” Some of the images shown, such as Jean-Paul Gaultier’s inappropriate use of Māori Moko Kauae in a 2007 fashion campaign, make me feel uncomfortable. Regardless if he knew the historical and cultural significance of Moko Kauae, he is not a Māori designer, nor did he have any ties to Māori, let alone Māori models. This is a clear example of cultural appropriation.
Some of the other examples shown, however, did make me think a lot. Erika Pearce’s work is undoubtedly beautiful, but when it was stated that “she doesn’t work with local iwi to ensure she is fairly and accurately portraying Māori stories”, it made me look at her work again. Culture is something that transcends language- to many people, especially indigenous people, it’s such a core part of their very being. The thought of misrepresenting that in my work terrifies me. There comes a point where research and passion just aren’t enough. Similarly, Lester Hall’s work is not done in collaboration with Māori – instead he sexualizes Māori women through a Western lens. This is damaging to Māori women as it is not representative of them in any sense.
“As Māori and New Zealanders we should tread carefully to ensure that our artistic contributions (and acquisitions) portray Māori narratives which honour them authentically.” Authenticity and culture go together hand in hand – if Pearce had worked with her local iwi to produce her work, even just through talking about the real story or legend her work is based on, that is when cultural appropriation becomes appreciation, in my opinion: she would not be telling the story on behalf of Māori with her own interpretation, but working with Māori to tell the story in a way that’s culturally sensitive. And if Hall had used real Māori women as models, and listened to their stories, his work would become appreciation.
To conclude, everyone needs to be careful about what cultural elements are in their work. Just because we like something or have a passion for it does not mean it’s ours. We should respect, honour, and work with those of that culture. I think Hawkins sums everything up well: “[we need] allies who can love and acknowledge our rich histories and identities without making them their own, and calling it #MaoriArt.”
Reflect + Project – To cause a change in direction.
CCDN271: Design in Context, VUW School of Design 2019
Chosen theme: Eurocentric Design Education (Conscious/Unconscious Bias)
Title: “The World That Could Be”; Redesigning Design Education With Place-Based Knowledge
Design education, as much as we try to deny it, is biased and completely Eurocentric in nature (Roozbeh, 2018). It’s European-based ideology is what we are taught to worship in the lecture theatre, however for communities outside of the guarded walls of Universities across the globe, a Eurocentric design solution is not what is needed to solve “wicked problems” (Carnegie Mellon University, 2015). This essay will argue that design education needs to be decolonised for the future of our societies, and that using transition design ideas and indigenous knowledge will help us become better designers and better contributors to society as a whole.
Eurocentrism is the worldview that Western society (Europeans) have the most important history and influence compared to other societies and nationalities; additionally, all histories that are non- Western are understood from a purely European point of view (Pokhrel, 2011). Therefore Eurocentric design refers to design coming from a European standpoint; inspired by and referencing European design history, principles and ideology, with little to no understanding or first-hand experience of other histories of design.
It is important to note however, that while design education is largely Eurocentric, this is an unconscious bias that has been imbedded within even the best-meaning and genuine teachers and lecturers. “Most educators inherit this situation with absolutely no ill intent, but the truth is, the situation is historically rooted in some very ugly things: white supremacism, genocide, displacement, cultural suppression, and forced assimilation. It’s important to acknowledge this truth and make changes where we can.” (Southall in Andersen, 2017).
In design education, this means that everything we are taught is from a European standpoint. In terms of ‘global’ design education, Mutiti (in Samarskaya, 2019) states: “This idea of the ‘global’ has never been all-encompassing, nor has it referenced how motifs, trends, and visual ideas have circulated since before colonialism and because of it.” She prefaces, “[Design] education is problematic because we learn the Western canon—the way the Western eye has been looking at our geography, or our language, or history.” Eurocentric teachings overstep their boundaries, by teaching people of other cultures about their own histories through a European lens. This doesn’t just happen overseas in non-English speaking countries, but around the world (Roozbeh, 2018) where international and indigenous students come to learn about design, and instead are often force fed a whitewashed version of their culture’s design and art history.
This is so dangerous in design education because “while every design student loves a good Walter Gropius story, teaching design from a Eurocentric perspective fails to reflect the diversity that exists in the student body or regional history of contemporary institutions.” (Andersen, 2017). Diversity is key in design education, not just in terms of student population but in teaching staff. Having a
diverse range of lecturers and tutors that can teach their own cultural design histories from an authentic and indigenous point of view will allow students to gain a better understanding of truly global design ideologies, while also becoming more appreciative of their own. Identity and cultural heritage are such a unique yet powerful part of every designer’s work, and is something we can’t afford to give up on.
It's not just design education that needs to change, but design as a whole. European designers need to stop interpreting different cultures through their own eyes and collaborate and work with indigenous designers. I’m not arguing that design needs to be segregated, but that designers should work with and learn from designers and teachers of other cultures to be able to respectfully and appropriately design with culture in mind (Roozbeh, 2018).
Possibly the most damaging part of Eurocentric design education is how the Industrial Revolution is arrogantly glorified (Aldersey-Williams, 1990) as a turning point in our society. Before the industrial revolution, or what Amin (1989) called “modernity”, the Western world was made up of settled societies, very similar to those indigenous societies, in which they “[limited] the expression of the seven deadly sins of pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust simply because these vices make living in close quarters difficult if not impossible.” (Orr, 2002). They designed their way of life and being with ecology in mind, so that their future generations could live sustainably like them. There was not a lot of growth, excess, or ego – just a sustained way of life, living and designing alongside nature.
Our society has turned from a culture that was once settled (like indigenous cultures) to a culture that Mumford (1961) described in which “the [seven] deadly sins have mutated into “virtues” that feed economic obesity” (as cited in Orr, 2002). Orr (2002) states: “The great conceit of the industrial world is the belief that we are exempt from the laws that govern the rest of the creation. Nature in that view is something to be overcome and subordinated.” This way of living, of consumerism and GDP-focussed goals, is simply not sustainable for us, let alone future generations.
Design education needs to change so that young designers are taught to work and design alongside nature instead of against it. The way to do this is to abandon Eurocentric education and incorporate indigenous wisdom into our curriculum; teaching design using both local place-based and worldwide place-based knowledge (Orr, 2002). In order to create a better and more sustainable global society, we first have to focus on our own. In New Zealand design education, this would mean having more teachers and lecturers who better represent our entire population; Maori (16.5%), Pasifika (8.1%), and Asian (15.1%), as well as European (70.2%) (note that citizens can have more than one broad ethnic group, which is why the percentages don’t equal 100 but represent the percentage out of the total number of New Zealand census participants) (Stats NZ, 2019). “Why are [indigenous cultures] still relegated to “special topics” classes, or to the anthropology department instead of serving as foundational principles to standard design curricula?” (Andersen, 2017). Maori, Asian, Pasifika and European design history and principles should all be part of the mandatory curriculum in both tertiary and secondary design courses.
By learning about the way that indigenous people from settled cultures designed not only tools and ornaments but their entire way of life, we can find ways to integrate that ecological-focussed design and knowledge into our own society. We can attempt to find logical and fair solutions for wicked problems, such as “climate change, loss of biodiversity, [and] depletion of natural resources” (Carnegie Mellon University, 2015), by working with nature as a partner and ally, not an enemy.
To conclude, it is so important to open up and decolonise design education so that every culture’s design history is taught authentically, respectfully and correctly; most importantly, those cultures who make up our own student body and national population. By learning from cultures who successfully lived (and continue to live) in settled societies, we can appreciate and implement place- based knowledge in our own designs (whether they be tangible or conceptual) so that our regional and national societies can become more sustainable and ecologically-focussed. Margolin (2007) stated that “Designers occupy a dialectical space between the world that is and the world that could be”; let’s respectfully use this worthwhile place-based knowledge to redesign “the world that could be.”
Bibliography
Aldersey-Williams, H. (1990). Design and cultural identity. International Journal of Technology and
Aldersey-Williams, H. (1990). Design and cultural identity. International Journal of Technology and
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Amin, S. (1989). Eurocentrism (R. Moore, Trans.). New York, NY: Monthly Review
Amin, S. (1989). Eurocentrism (R. Moore, Trans.). New York, NY: Monthly Review
Andersen, M. (2017). Why Can’t the U.S. Decolonize Its Design Education? Retrieved from https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/why-cant-the-u-s-decolonize-its-design-education/
Carnegie Mellon University. (2015). Transition Design 2015. Pittsburgh, PA: Author. Margolin, V. (2007). Design, the Future and the Human Spirit. Design Issues, 23(3), 4–15.
https://doi.org/10.1162/desi.2007.23.3.4
Orr, D. W. (2002). The Nature of Design. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Orr, D. W. (2002). The Nature of Design. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Pokhrel, A. K. (2011). Eurocentrism. In: Chatterjee D.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Justice. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer
Roozbeh, B. (2018). Somehow I can’t think about graphic design, without thinking about eurocentrism. Retrieved from http://www.diva- portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1243426/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Samarskaya, K. (2019). Nontsikelelo Mutiti on Interrogating the Euro-centric Design Canon. Retrieved from https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/nontsikelelo-mutiti-on-the-specificity-of-locality-in-graphic- design/
Stats NZ. (2019). 2018 Census population and dwelling counts. Retrieved from: https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/2018-census-population-and-dwelling-counts