According to Munari, the role of design in our society should be not just something formal and beautiful that is presented to a select few like fine art is, but part of our everyday lives and made for the public. Design should solve common aesthetic problems for any product in a way that is functional, comprehensive, coherent, clear, and up to date. Armstrong also sees design as being prevalent in all aspects of our lives. It should play a social role in society, connecting designers and allowing them to produce their own subculture while also getting involved in societal issues like sustainability and social justice. What distinguishes the fields of design from other creative occupations is the foundational purpose of establishing a connection between art and the public. As opposed to other creative occupations, design involves printing, techniques, psychological functions, being able to respond to the needs of a client and solving any design issues with objectivity.
The field of design undergoes rapid changes, and it is up to the designer to keep up to date with them. Technology has played a huge role in shaping design. Instead of being just limited to painted and drawn images of recognizable reality, technology has allowed designers to see things they have never been able to see before. With the help of modern machines and tools, invisible things like sound and microscopic items can be seen, along with a variety of lights and true forms like airplanes and missiles which did not exist before technology. It has also allowed designers to have a bolder artistic presence because it puts creation, production, and distribution in their hands. Technology also made content creation much more accessible and easier. As mentioned before, designers can form their own subculture, create a collective voice, share ideas, tools, and intellectual property, and get involved in societal issues due to the connectivity that technology provides. It has also redefined the notion of universality by challenging the restrictive protocols that were present in the past and creating a commonality through sharing instead.
Designers deal with many questions and problems in their career. Some of these questions may be theoretical, some may be urgent, and they are responsible for solving these problems. Designers should concern themselves with unsolvable theoretical questions in order to stimulate change and growth in their own work. It would also help build a community and social network around common theoretical questions, making a designer’s everyday practice, which often goes unrecognized, visible. The most urgent problems facing designers today are communication, and objectivity. In terms of communication, it is a designer’s job to be able to portray a certain message through their work, and make sure it is being perceived correctly by the public. This can be done through objectivity, by viewing their work without any preconceptions or false notions and recognizing the needs of their client and responding to them.
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