Armstrong, Helen. “Introduction: Revisiting the Avant-Garde” Graphic Design Theory: Readings From the Field, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. Pages 9-15.

Define these terms and consider in what ways do today’s designers participate in, facilitate, or reject them.

  1. Authorship
  2. Universality
  3. Social Responsibility
  4. What idea(s) or concerns do you think will drive the Avant-Garde of the near future?
  5. What role does technology play in shaping design? 
  6. What are the most urgent problems facing designers today?

Authorship is the credibility one takes for creating a piece of work such as a design, art, writing piece, and other types or work. In today’s world, many artists will practice authorship  and reject the idea of anonymity for various reasons. Some of those reasons could be that they are proud of their work and would like recognition, want to prevent others from taking their original ideas and getting money from it, having credibility and being able to be noticed enough to get customers or hired for projects, and many more. In the past, many artists did not put their name on their work as it was more of a donation of art to the world, but nowadays, people want to be recognized for the hard work and time they put into their creations. Work unnamed can be copied and used for their own profit and this is something most artists want to avoid since our world has evolved into a very technology driven world. Many designers and artists have a specific style to what they do based on their own aesthetic. An example could be of the artist Banksy, most people know what his work looks like and knows his artist name, so when they see his art, they automatically can say “that’s a Banksy piece”, and no one else really uses his style of art because others might look at them as if they are copying his style. Because of our world being so driven by technology, people’s work has become more universal, so that their work is not just liked by one specific group, but can reach many audiences in different cultures and be enjoyed or critiqued by many when shared. Technology allows one to share things at the click of a button, which is why universality is a big part of work today. Artists and designers want their work to be liked or understood by most when they create something that is shared by bigger and diverse audiences. Designers, creators, and artists today share their work through social media platforms. They post their work to their profiles or websites, and people are able to give their own type of feedback, good and bad, thus helping the designer to understand what is trending and enjoyed in today’s time, and to shape their work with what is going on and what people would want to see. Authorship, universality, and social responsibility all go hand in hand with making a designer or artist more known and their work in the future, recognized and/or appreciated. Some ideas that may drive the Advent Garde of the future are the new ideas people may create or come up with. The role technology plays in shaping design is making it more efficient and easier to use different tools and ways of creating. The most urgent problem facing some designers now are people copying their work, or sharing their work without their permission or giving credit to the original designer.

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