Nicole Roberts MFA Thesis Visual Component Artwork - Savannah ...

EXPECTATION 7 | social responsibility
EXPECtAtiON 7
social
responsibility
In 1963, Kevin Garland, a British graphic designer wrote
the First Things First manifesto which challenged designers
to become more responsible with their contributions to a
global culture. In 1999, a revised version of the manifesto
was resurrected in the United States by a younger generation
of designers and was widely published in a variety of design
journals and the likes of Adbuster magazine. As far as
intrinsic design issues go, the First Things First manifesto
sparked significant controversy concerning design ethics. 27
Its revolutionary sentiments have since resurfaced within
professional expectations of new graduates entering the
twenty-first century workplace. Today’s leading designers
are not just evaluating the ethics of commercial content, but
are also evaluating the ethics of the processes by which they
conceptualize, produce, and distribute visual communication.
With today’s newfound public awareness of design
comes a newfound social responsibility for designers. Graphic
designers must acknowledge that they have the responsibility
(and the ability to respond) not just to the needs of their clients
but also to those of society. 28 When leading professionals were
asked about new industry issues students need to learn now for
future success in the workplace, the dominant social topic was
sustainability. Concepts of global culture were also mentioned,
as social media continues to expand as the popular form of
dynamic communication.
27 Michael Bierut, William Drenttel
and Steven Heller, ed. Looking
Closer Four: Critical Writings on
Graphic Design, (New York,
NY: Allworth Press, 2002) 4.
28 Charlotte & Peter Fiell, Graphic
Design for the 21st Century,
(Hohenzollernring: Taschen,
2005) 10.
Designers have a dual duty;
contractually to their clients
and morally to the later users
and recipients of their work.
Hans Höger
41