Being a graphic designer differs from other creative occupations because there is less focus on individual artistic style. The role of designer is to provide problem solving through function and aesthetics. Our creations show how art can be incorporated into things we use on the daily. Some examples would be the design of your furniture, store signs, food logos, and more.

The more often that technology advances so does design. Designers are able to do more parts of the design process themselves because so many tools are available. Also graphic designers can use these tools to better individualize their design styles. Such as all the Adobe programs that allow designers to bring more variety to their portfolios.

Today in design it is most urgent for graphic designers to keep up with innovations in social and visual communication. Figuring out how to apply design to the world around us in a functional way. This means solving problems by also upholding visual interest to the consumers.

According to the authors, design should play an innovative role in society. One where the designers of the world are the middlemen tasked with producing good communication between society and design/art to the best of their ability. Designers in today’s world should be able to evolve with the current culture of the world without losing their innate aesthetic sense. When they are designing something, they take into consideration society and how best their design is going to impact/work within their society (enhancing it). The authors believe that designers should take a step back from what it means to be an artist in the old days and that they should be flexible enough to be able to supply on demand for their neighbours.

The field of design is distinguished from other creative occupations because being a designer entails a whole lot more than only being creative. Although the creative aspect is important, designers are somewhat designers/ engineers at the same time. Figuring out the best way to communicate with society via the design along with keeping an eye out for the needs of society. As a designer one has to take into consideration how their design is going to work in the world and how it will impact society (whether it is enhancing society’s culture in a positive light).

Designers should concern themselves with unsolvable theoretical questions because this is what it takes to push the current generation/culture to the next level. Technology plays a major role in shaping design. Technology made it possible for many artists to be able to showcase their work how they felt they wanted to. It also made it easier for young designers to become inspired all around the world. With the advancement of technology design/ designers of the world were able to grow with it (always advancing).

Because the world is always evolving and designers are often tasked as the ones to maintain the standard of culture, staying hip to their surroundings and what is going on in society is significant to a designer. New styles/ new cultural advancements can be one of the urgent problems for a designer if they are not keeping up to date. With the fast pace of technology, designers that do not evolve with the culture can be at the short end of the stick; being the ones to fix problems of the world and to make the accessibility of products most effective. Moreover, when a designer is up to date/ in sync with society and its culture they will be able to solve the new problems of the world that the generation before us did not have to deal with. Which I believe is a task they enjoy.

According to both Armstrong and Munari, designers should design with purpose and play a beneficial role within society. To be informative and present relevant ideas without bias or personal feelings, is the most successful way to contribute to society. Munari directly expresses this concept when he states, “the designer is therefore the artist of today, not because he is a genius but because he works in such a way as to reestablish contact between art and the public…” (32). With this in mind, a sense of harmony amongst functionality and aesthetic can be made when designing. What distinguishes the field or fields of design from other creative occupations, is the need to maintain relevancy. Views and opinions are forever changing, designers have to keep up with trends.

Designers should concern themselves with unsolvable theoretical questions, that way they are able to play a relevant role in their field and be able to seek inspiration by questioning the known. When one thinks outside of the box, they are able to expand their perspective and come up with new ideas and concepts. According to Armstrong, the role technology plays in shaping design is enabling “a new kind of universal language…” (13). Through technology, designers are able to direct their focus on their content and message. They are given the opportunity to focus on imperative issues, such as “sustainability and social justice” (13). With the help of technology, artists are able to access a variety of sources and programs. This is a huge benefit and allows designers to create a faster pace. 

The most urgent problems facing designers today are the challenges of creating work that is relevant, yet conjures new ideas/concepts and being able to adapt and change to the fast paced environment. As Armstrong stated, “Technology is fundamentally altering our culture,” (9). The world of design consists of a wide range of techniques and ideas that help us express our ideas and spread the message we intended to. We need prepare for what is to come in the future, while being aware of what is currently happening. 

Society has continuously continued to develop and grow throughout the years, but not only society has grown as decades pass. Graphic design and the designers have also evolved as technology began to be created and everything became more focused towards that aspect. Both society and graphic design are connected, According to the text, this is something Armstrong would agree with. 

We as designers have to see and interact with our society to see the true art around us. Although, as society first developed with technology, early avant-Garde artists viewed authored work of the old art world as shamefully elitist and ego driven. Yet we can agree that one has to understand and see the purpose of that past design in order to build art of today. Munari and Armstrong both believed in that as well, which is why they observed things in such different aspects. 

Designers now have begun to evolve into design observers or as the term Dmitri Seigel uses “prosumers”.  He combined both producer and consumer into one, designers are now in charge of things such as design, manufacturing, and the development. Technology has pushed designers into having to be able to produce work with multiple kinds of designs. Which is a good thing because it expands ones way of thinking along with the work they will be able to produce. Asking yourself Theoretical questions as a designer is an important thing that we should all concern ourselves with because it helps create another path to creativity, while also expanding your way of thinking and handling the design you are creating. It also gives one time to reflect on the task at hand and find the solution to the problem one may have had with their art. 

According to the authors, designers are active creators of the current cultures. Designers are not artists but the means of expressing the voice of people in terms of visuals and function. In other words, designers are interpreters of human needs and since the culture is a term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found in human societies, designers are the active creators of the culture.

Another noteworthy quality that distinguishes designers from other creative occupations is the required humility, the ability to look at the world through the eyes of others, and then the artistry to produce the most neutral, effective, and relevant work. Having had this power, designers should engage with societies politically and culturally in order to increase awareness and understanding of the global issues inside a tightly networked world.

Technology has enabled more and more designer to produce content independently and as a result, issues like sustainability and social justice have been moving to the forefront. The technology that designers use today has also brought back the universality of design which is more of a standardized look of the visual content.

In midst of rapid technological and societal changes, designers should always be interested in answering complicated theoretical questions because in every good designer, there is a talent to constructively assess the problem/question and then to effectively respond using the world of visuals that we humans find so stimulating and fundamentally important.

If I am understanding the readings correctly Armstrong would say that successful designers are connected to society. That their role is to ask not only why but how. Munari would say that design is a vast sector of human activity that creates a living language made up of all the sectors. This language is silently viewed by all, understood by few. Both Armstrong and Munari agree that we need to understand and establish the purpose of past design in order to build the art of today. 

The Design field distinguishes itself from other occupations because it adequately weights out all components, from the drawing table to the finished product. In order to connect art to the public, designers must consider function as well as color psychology. Today’s designers have more of a connection with art and the public, between living and nonliving.

Which is why designers need theoretical questions. Everything is constantly changing. The Munari reading said it perfectly. Art was once images painted, drawn or carved. We could show the visible reality. Since then with the involvement of technology we now see the invisible, through x-rays and microscopes.

What’s debatable is the beauty. I like that design challenges and combines old with new. A decorative vase function was once a vase in a kitchen containing oil, and is now on display in a museum for its intricate and ornate detail. Yet we still have vases, the purpose has just changed, it holds flowers. I connected this to buildings. The ones built now are more streamlined. Many windows, often floor to ceiling. With little to no outside detail. No gargoyles, just spikes to remove the pigeons. As designers the goal is to understand and visually create to the changing needs of society and social activities.

Designers role in society is to make everything in the surroundings eligible to use and aesthetically pleasing, a designer should always be looking for problems to solve in society and come up with the appropriate solution. What distinguishes the field of design from other creative occupations is that for example and engineer main objective is the functionality of whatever he is designing and an artist is looking for the abstract beasty as referred to in Munari’s Design as art which is to my understanding beauty just for the sake of it there is no function to it but a designer has to combine both function and beauty to successfully accomplish his job.

Technology changed the field of design forever and by technology I don’t just mean computers and social media, no I mean every technological leap that helped open a designers mind to new things that designers back in the day had no access to, social media and the internet in general helped shape the design world into a world of independency, you no longer need a publisher or a place to go to show your work, every design now has a platform. “Digital technology puts creation, production, and distribution into the hands of the designer.”- Helen Armstrong

Designers should concern themselves with unsolvable theoretical questions because they help with creativity and makes you pause to reflect and ask a question and find problems to solve. Designers solve problems by looking at the subject at hand from every position and creating a strategy to solve the problem.