Design as Manipulation. Design as Emancipation

EcoLabs
EcoLabsP/T Research Fellow at CECAN + Director of EcoLabs
Symbolic Violence:
Design as Manipulation / Design as Emancipation




                 Jody Boehnert
              EcoLabs - www.eco-labs.org
              @OccupyDesignUK Launch
                     January 2012
THE STEADY STATE ECONOMY
A Totem of Real Happiness
reas sur an c e

                                                                               fast climate Change                                          Slow climate change

                                                                    £220                      £220       £260                 £280          £280                  £300




                                            BROWN                                                                                                                            ‘Green’
                                             TECH               African bush               Canadian
                                                                                            Beaver     sparrows                                               Honey bee
                                                                                                                                                                              Tech
                                                                  elephant                                                  Fig Trees     Starfish




                                               bowhead




                                                                                                                                                                              tropical
                                                                                                                                                                              cameron
                                                whale




                                                                                                                                                                               forest
                                    £200




                                                                                                                                                                                            £340
               Slow oil deplesion




                                               Tasmanian




                                                                                                                                                                                                   Slow oil deplesion
                                               Coral reef




                                                                                                                                                                              Amazon
                                                                                                                                                                               Forest
                                    £180




                                                                                                                                                                                            £340
                                               Yangtze




                                                                                                                                                                                                                        so ci al learni n g
                                                                                                                                                                              Boreal
                                                                                                                                                                              Forest
                                                River




                                                                                                                                                                                            £360
                                    £180
tech n o -fix




                                                                                         E conopoly
                                                    Enviropig
                                    £160




                                                                                                                                                                               Hydrophere
                                               cereal
                                               hybrid
                                    £140




                                                                                                                                                                                            £380


                                                                                                                                                                                                   Fast oil depletion
               Fast oil depletion




                                                                                                                                                                            Descent
                                                                                                                                                                            Energy
                                                                                                                                                                             Local

                                                                                                                                                                             Plan
                                                                                                                                                                              Atmosphere
                                               terminator
                                                  gene
                                    £140




                                                                                                                                                                                            £400
                                                                                              Local
                                                                                             Energy
                                                                   Lake          Gulf of     Descent     ARAL               Kalahari      Kayapo              Madagascan
                                                                 Victoria        Mexico       Plan        Sea              Devil’s Claw   people               Periwinkle
                                           Coll apse                                                                                                                        Transition


                                                                    £120          £100                   £100                  £80          £60                   £60




                                                                               fast climate Change                                          slow climate change




                                                                                                         cr isis ori ent ed
£220       £260       £280        £280




 Canadian
  Beaver    sparrows   Fig Trees   Starfish




E conop oly
      Ecology GAmes 2012
Design as
Manipulation
The UK advertising industry, worth £17,318M in 2008 (1.2% of GDP),
has plentiful resources to communicate a view of nature that suits
the needs of industry and convince the public that new products and
business as usual are sustainable.
Design skills are harnessed to help advertisers communicate
attitudes and values supporting consumer capitalism.


Advertising offers highly paid work for graphic designers but
a recent report by the new economics foundation found that
‘for every £1 of value created by an advertising executive,
£11.50 is destroyed’ (nef 2009).
Design as Manipulation. Design as Emancipation
Symbolic violence is perpetuated through design.


The design industry manipulates tastes, desire and identity to
maintain the seductive power of consumer capitalism.


Design serves the needs the capitalism system that is dependent
on both the exploitation of nature and the invisibility and
remoteness of this dynamic.
This visibility of corporate advertising marginalizes environmental
concerns to the point of obscurity.


Truthful information on the state of Earth’s systems cannot compete
with the information overload by advertisers characterizing nature
as infinitely exploitable.
Design as Manipulation. Design as Emancipation
Design as
Emanicipation
 •	 Visualizing ecological literacy & sustainability

 •	 Supporting social movements (such as Occupy)

 •	 Politically, socially & ecologically engaged design practice
Visualising ecological literacy & sustainability




                                                   Graphic by PIRC
Design as Manipulation. Design as Emancipation
Recent temperature changes                                                          GLOBAL STEP    2
                                                                                                                                 Temperature Choice


                                             Models vs. Scenarios

                                                                                                                                                Bars show the range in
                                                                                                                                                year 2100 produced by
                                                                                                                                                several scenarios.

                                      6.0


                                      5.5


                                      5.0
                                                A1FI - Rapid growth, fossil fuel intensive.
  Temperature Rise, degrees Celsius




                                      4.5
Temperature Rise, degrees Celsius.




                                                A2 - High energy consumption, rapid population growth.
                                      4.0
                                                A1B - Rapid growth, balanced energy sources.
                                      3.5
                                                B2 - Environmental preservation and local solutions.
                                      3.0
                                                A1T - Rapid growth, new, non-carbon, technology.
                                      2.5
                                                IS92a - "Business as usual" IPCC.
                                      2.0
                                                B1 - Environmentally and socially conscious global approach.
                                      1.5


                                      1.0


                                      0.5                                                                                                            Scenarios

                                                                                                                                                           A1B
                                      0.0
                                                                                                                                                           A1T
                                                                                                                                                           A1FI
                                      -0.5                                                                                                                 A2
                                                                                                                                                           B1
                                      -1.0                                                                                                                 B2
                                                                                                                                                           IS92a



                                             1700                 1800                  1900              2000                               2100
                                                                                           Year


                                                                                                               "The Game Plan" slideset release 1.0, March 13 2008   43
Design as Manipulation. Design as Emancipation
Springer-Verlag. The New Scientist.
Earth’s Natural Wealth: an Audit. The New Scientist
The Oil Age. Information design by Dave Menninger. 2006
Good Magazine
Living Planet Report WWF
Planetary Boundaries
                                                                                              Climate Change
                                                                                                                     Nit
                                                                                                                           ro
                                                                                                                                ge
                                                                                                                                     n
                                                                                ss                                                       &
                                                                        Lo                                                                   Ph
                                                                  ity                                                                               o




                                                              s




                                                                                                                                                    sp
                                                             er




                                                                                                                                                         ho
                                                          iv




                                                                                                                                                         ru
                                                         od




                                                                                                                                                          s
                                                         Bi




                                                                                                                                                             Cy
                                                                                                                                                              cle
                                                                                                                                                               s
                                                                                                                                                                    Ocean A
                                         System Change




                                                                                                                                                                    cidification
                                            Land




                                                                                                                                                              Ch
                                                         n




                                                                                                                                                             em
                                                         io
                                                         et




                                                                                                                                                          ic
                                                             l
                                                          ep




                                                                                                                                                         al
                                                              D




                                                                                                                                                         P
                                                                                                                                                    ol
                                                                  er                                                                           lu
                                                                       at                                                                tio
                                                                            W                                                        n
                                                                                h
                                                                                    es
                                                                                         Fr
                                                                                                              Ozon
                                                                                              e and Aerosol




Humanity has already transgressed three planetary boundaries: for climate change, rate of biodiversity loss and changes to the global nitrogen cycle.
EcoLabs
www.eco-labs.org
 http://visecology.wordpress.com
  http://ecolabs.posterous.com/
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Design as Manipulation. Design as Emancipation

  • 1. Symbolic Violence: Design as Manipulation / Design as Emancipation Jody Boehnert EcoLabs - www.eco-labs.org @OccupyDesignUK Launch January 2012
  • 2. THE STEADY STATE ECONOMY A Totem of Real Happiness
  • 3. reas sur an c e fast climate Change Slow climate change £220 £220 £260 £280 £280 £300 BROWN ‘Green’ TECH African bush Canadian Beaver sparrows Honey bee Tech elephant Fig Trees Starfish bowhead tropical cameron whale forest £200 £340 Slow oil deplesion Tasmanian Slow oil deplesion Coral reef Amazon Forest £180 £340 Yangtze so ci al learni n g Boreal Forest River £360 £180 tech n o -fix E conopoly Enviropig £160 Hydrophere cereal hybrid £140 £380 Fast oil depletion Fast oil depletion Descent Energy Local Plan Atmosphere terminator gene £140 £400 Local Energy Lake Gulf of Descent ARAL Kalahari Kayapo Madagascan Victoria Mexico Plan Sea Devil’s Claw people Periwinkle Coll apse Transition £120 £100 £100 £80 £60 £60 fast climate Change slow climate change cr isis ori ent ed
  • 4. £220 £260 £280 £280 Canadian Beaver sparrows Fig Trees Starfish E conop oly Ecology GAmes 2012
  • 5. Design as Manipulation The UK advertising industry, worth £17,318M in 2008 (1.2% of GDP), has plentiful resources to communicate a view of nature that suits the needs of industry and convince the public that new products and business as usual are sustainable.
  • 6. Design skills are harnessed to help advertisers communicate attitudes and values supporting consumer capitalism. Advertising offers highly paid work for graphic designers but a recent report by the new economics foundation found that ‘for every £1 of value created by an advertising executive, £11.50 is destroyed’ (nef 2009).
  • 8. Symbolic violence is perpetuated through design. The design industry manipulates tastes, desire and identity to maintain the seductive power of consumer capitalism. Design serves the needs the capitalism system that is dependent on both the exploitation of nature and the invisibility and remoteness of this dynamic.
  • 9. This visibility of corporate advertising marginalizes environmental concerns to the point of obscurity. Truthful information on the state of Earth’s systems cannot compete with the information overload by advertisers characterizing nature as infinitely exploitable.
  • 11. Design as Emanicipation • Visualizing ecological literacy & sustainability • Supporting social movements (such as Occupy) • Politically, socially & ecologically engaged design practice
  • 12. Visualising ecological literacy & sustainability Graphic by PIRC
  • 14. Recent temperature changes GLOBAL STEP 2 Temperature Choice Models vs. Scenarios Bars show the range in year 2100 produced by several scenarios. 6.0 5.5 5.0 A1FI - Rapid growth, fossil fuel intensive. Temperature Rise, degrees Celsius 4.5 Temperature Rise, degrees Celsius. A2 - High energy consumption, rapid population growth. 4.0 A1B - Rapid growth, balanced energy sources. 3.5 B2 - Environmental preservation and local solutions. 3.0 A1T - Rapid growth, new, non-carbon, technology. 2.5 IS92a - "Business as usual" IPCC. 2.0 B1 - Environmentally and socially conscious global approach. 1.5 1.0 0.5 Scenarios A1B 0.0 A1T A1FI -0.5 A2 B1 -1.0 B2 IS92a 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 Year "The Game Plan" slideset release 1.0, March 13 2008 43
  • 17. Earth’s Natural Wealth: an Audit. The New Scientist
  • 18. The Oil Age. Information design by Dave Menninger. 2006
  • 21. Planetary Boundaries Climate Change Nit ro ge n ss & Lo Ph ity o s sp er ho iv ru od s Bi Cy cle s Ocean A System Change cidification Land Ch n em io et ic l ep al D P ol er lu at tio W n h es Fr Ozon e and Aerosol Humanity has already transgressed three planetary boundaries: for climate change, rate of biodiversity loss and changes to the global nitrogen cycle.