New Steps: Ideas in a Different Space, Problem Swap, Cultural and Paradigm Shift – Part 2
The second lecture of this week was a podcast between Susanna Edwards and Mazier Raein. The conversation revolved around where is graphic Design standing now and were it is headed. Also, they also speculated on how Graphic Design can have a more active role in social and political affairs as well as how Graphic Design will impact the future and how the future will impact Graphic Design – how ideas are and will be perceived in relation to the environment and society.
They begin by discussing the intellectual aspect of Graphic Design, what kind of knowledge involves each work and how it works in relation to other areas of knowledge such as Science and Literature. Here Raien highlights the contrast between the autonomous self-directed work of the designer and the mainstream work produced for clients and how different they can be. This reminded me of the lectures of a few weeks ago were the lectures and work revolved around the importance of side projects. In the podcast, they iterate that self-initiated projects offer the freedom for experimentation and learn skills that commercial projects may never offer because of certain constraints such as tight deadlines or specific requests from the client.
During this podcast, they also bring about the point that today’s graphic designers are taking on a more active role in society and are keen on being agents of change. They care about the environment they live in, how society is evolving and current affairs. Designers want to make the world better. However, in many cases they also hold back because of self-doubt. They want to make sure that they are equipped enough to execute their ideas. To this, today the industry sees a lot of collaborations and group practices. Such an approach to a project helps in filling in the gaps of skills, plus thinking as a group will generate more ideas spread on a broader spectrum that if combined, they will result in a better project. In addition to this, exploration is also becoming as important as the end result of a project. As exploration makes room for learning, the people involved in a project can not only learn skills but also learn how to apply and modify their skills as it deems them fit.
Raein continues by discussing the multiple meanings of the term ‘craft’. Other than the traditional meaning – that of learning how to work in a certain way – the term has adapting a new meaning. It now also means that one has a certain depth of understanding of detail in a subject and moving away from it and customise the processes. Questioning your surroundings is important in order to perfect a craft, for only that way you will learn new things. Discovery is an important part of learning, for edges will always be pushed further. With that said, in it important to learn what are the edges of our practice. How far are we willing to take it? Are we willing to defy norms for the sake of change? Will my sensibilities by effected? This is how Raein described ‘intuition’ – an instinctive expression of sensibilities. Knowing where we stand and how far are will willing to go with our work is an important part of knowing ourselves.
