Designism 2.0 Part 2 - Talk. Milton Glaser.
Posted on
2007-Dec-16
at
02:09
“ The main design problem, and all the socially motivated projects, is how do you get into the mainstream of consciousness so that they have some effect.”
Wise words from a smart man. Milton Glaser, instructor at the School of the Visual Arts and founder of Milton Glazer Inc, knows that art does not live in a bubble. Or, rather, shouldn’t. But in order to make that happen, some money is involved. You “either have to be supported by an institution or some individual who cares.”
Wait. Are we talking about advertising? Not so fast.
Mr. Glaser, like Ms. Reznick, is all for sociopolitical change. He has helped to realize projects to raise awareness about the crisis in Darfur and the tragedies in Iraq. His most recent project, “The 100 Neediest Cases,” is a postcard campaign sent to politicians that chronicle a hundred stories of Iraqis who have been under distress due to the war. While 40,000 Iraqis flee their homes each month, this idea is an attempt to make this easier to digest. A hundred is conceptually easier to wrap your head around than 40,000. A hundred personal stories are more powerful than 40,000 brief mentions.
Well, that sounds like an advertising idea! No? Not sure. Again, Mr. Glaser is a cynic of the advertising industry. But he does question himself and his own motivations. When asked about the self-benefits of doing good, Mr Glaser acknowledged that he must ask himself “Is this just another scam to make me look good?”
Well, it may be. It may not. “But when you suddenly touch the reality of people’s lives, [Mr Glaser] begin[s] to understand the desperation that people are experiencing. I have to say that you begin to experience these thing in a different way.”
Well, we can’t knock him for that.
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