Design for the World

Gustavo Machado Kimberly Vickrey GR 500 4 Graduate Seminar i Miami University of Art & Design MFA in Graphic Design

Every minute, one person is murdered, one dies in armed conflict and another commits suicide

Globalization isn’t helping. In fact it is promoting unequal distribution of wealth, health and knowledge, resulting in widening gaps between the haves and have-nots

“ Massive Change is not about the world of design; it’s about the design of the world .”

In fact, the secret ambition of design is to become invisible , to be taken up into the culture, absorbed into the background. The highest order of success in design is to achieve ubiquity , to become banal .” (Bruce Mau)

“ Question everything. Ask why . Question answers. Assume nothing . Especially as you consider design’s role in shaping the world.” (Robert L. Peters)

“ Just look at the Web designers , they can single-handedly reach the world...” (Tibor Kalman)

“ Every juncture of information creation, storage, retrieval, distribution and use entails design. If we think about this, it is clear that there should be no profession in higher demand than that of the designer: the potential applications of design skills, and the need for those skills to distinguish and empower any given information commodity, are overwhelming .” (Clement Mok)

“ Each of us needs to begin practicing with real projects. Find a problem in your community that you care about, pick a cause: education, health, environment, politics, religion, art. Then use your skills to help that cause reach a small or a large goal: design posters, design events, give lectures. Many designers are unaware of the power of the skills they sell: true understanding comes from personal experience. Like any successful project, both sides will win.” (Clement Mok)

“ Designers help to wield power to change , modify, eliminate, or evolve totally new patterns. Have we educated our clients, our sales force, the public? Have designers attempted to stand for integrity and a better way? Have we try to push forward, not only in the marketplace, but by considering the needs of people?” (Victor Papanek)

“ To understand the substance of style we must accept the subjectivity and variety of aesthetic value .” (Virginia Postrel)

“ One of the first things we have to do to correct these perceptions is to connect our work, our skills and our abilities to the challenges that are truly valuable, from an economic, social, cultural perspective. In other words, not just focus on the æsthetic value with which we want to imbue all our work, but look at the larger task at hand, and then figure out what we can bring to it. ” (Clement Mok)