Designism 2.0 Part 2 - Talk. A Very Heated Q&A
Posted on
2007-Dec-16
at
02:50
Well, this might be the most interesting (and heated) Q&A session I have ever attended. Who knew us artsy types could get do heated?!
“The problem with using design as a disruptive force is that everyone uses design as a disruptive force. So how do you break through the clutter? Someone figures it out, everyone copies, and you have to reinvent again. Using design to disrupt design. On an economic value its inflated and therefore devalued.”
“Design is dead.”
These words were spoken by renowned Vanity Fair columnist Mr. Michael Wolff, It seems as if he was supposed to be on the panel, but he only appeared for the Q&A - and mainly to rip all the panelists a new one. The “King of NYC Media” according to the New Yorker Magazine, Mr Wolff makes a living making critiques such as these. But this one is particularly harsh.
After dismissing the ADC exhibit as “seen it all before,” Mr. Wolff moved on to the Dove campaign. “There’s no statement of honesty or truth or even anything novel there. So what are we doing here? I’m kind of a little flabbergasted that this is the state of discussion. the state of advancement.”
Before Mr. Wolff was about to get lynched by the audience, Milton Glaser chimed in. “I’m gonna disagree with you a little bit.” After a healthy round of applause, he continued, “New is hard. You have to do things within the traditions that you have established so that the readers and viewers will understand.”
So the sociopolitical poster and the :30 spot (or :90 second viral spot) aren’t dead? Who’s going to take this argument from rhetoric to proof?
Ah, it’s Janet Kestin. According to her, the Dove stuff works. Shrinks are showing the ads to patients who are commenting on the profound effect the spots have had on their lives. Janet receives multitudes of letters from women all over, thanking her for her work. “Real people don’t realize that what goes on in “Evolution” actually happens. It was enlightening.”
Well, real people aren’t the ones complaining. A woman in the audience stood up and proclaimed that “you didn’t show and fat or ugly people!”
You can’t please everyone. And Janet’s complacent silence for the rest of the session shows that she understands that - and that it’s okay.
Another audience member, an 18 year old design student, stood up to say that Design isn’t dead for him. He’s still young and his eyes are fresh and not yet jaded. These images have profound effects on him.
While silent for most of the Q&A, Liz Resnick probably felt the most proud. It is her work, teaching students to use design to say something of importance, that keeps the dream alive for 18 year old students, makes debates like this happen, and provides the foundation for the ADC’s mission of furthering design and communications. No one has all the answers, but according to Milton Glaser, “To a large extent, all you can do is raise consciousness.”
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