Reading Response 1 – NA

Revisiting the Avant-Garde

Armstrong, Helen. Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Pages 9-15. 

Questions/Prompts

• According to this author, what role should design play in society?
  
• What distinguishes the field, or fields, of design from other creative occupations?
  
• Why should designers concern themselves with unsolvable theoretical questions?
  
• What role does technology play in shaping design?
  
• What are the most urgent problems facing designers today?
  
• How, and why, is a designer responsible for solving these problems?
  

Response

Based on the reading I have done, I can conclude that the author believes that the design of today should act as a call to action for society. They believe that an effective design should be able to ignite conversation between the designer and their audience as well as with other people. They also believe that a designer must intentionally think about their designs and what role it plays in society and societal changes. 

I believe what sets this postmodern era of design apart from its contemporaries is its emphasis on designs being more human-centric. In this new generation of design, the designer works to make sure the designs they create speak in a universal language that breaks through language barriers. I believe designers should concern themselves with theoretical questions because it forces them to look to designers of the past and implement some of their influences within their own designs. By looking to the past, designers can create works and designs that influence the present and future beyond it. 

Technology plays a huge role in shaping design by providing a wider network for the designer to share their work and gain feedback from not just critics but from their audience and society at large. Thanks to the advent of the internet and social media, issues such as social justice have been pushed to the forefront and designers are utilizing the networks formed by the internet to form more universal designs that speak to societies on a global level. The designers create designs that engage with their audiences on a societal and even political level. One of the most urgent problems facing designers today is how they survive and keep their designs relevant within the new “prosumer” market. With the advancement of technology, there is more communication between the designer and the target audiences they are designed for. In an ever-changing design landscape where larger issues seem impossible to communicate, it is up to the designer to look to works of the past in order to form the universal designs that could shape the society of the future.

Annotation Links

1. Rewording: The answer is, of course, still up for grabs, but the rapid increase in autho-rial voices and the leveling of this multiplicity of voices into a collective drive suggest the future of our working environment.
2. Rewording: No longer primarily led by restrictive modern ideals of neutral, objective communication, the design field has expanded to include more direct critical engagement with the surrounding world.
3. Rewording: The technology through which designers today create and communi-cate has quietly thrust universality back into the foundation of our work.