Last week in Critical Studies, Richard introduced us to the First Things First manifesto and then yesterday in our PPD session we looked at it again and were posed the question 'what is your price?'.
First Things First, in a nutshell, says that we as designers should not waste our talents doing commercial projects. Instead we should be working towards a far greater purpose. After speaking to several people in the class I think I am in the minority because I am completely against the things outlined in this manifesto. I believe that what the manifesto dreams up is idealistic, preachy and polemic. It suggests from a very naive Marxist standpoint that wage labour isolates us from our core selves and that we should seek out more 'rewarding' projects, a concept not too different to the pro-bono work that lawyers, doctors and cosmetic surgeons carry out.
The authors of the piece in both 1964 and 2000 seem to think of advertising as a debased or perverted form of design and this whole manifesto is just an implicit attack on the subject. Their elitist viewpoint is typical of people who have already earned some money and gained a reputation as a designer. Just because they have had some success, they think that they can do whatever they want and look down on us lot who are just starting out and do have to earn a living by 'flogging crap'.
My price is high but whatever company I work for will be able to afford it. If the BNP were to offer me money to design something for them, I would take it. We cannot afford to be picky. Just because you don't like something is not a good enough excuse not to take a job. For example I hate fish but I would still work my arse off to design something to help sell fish if they were going to give me the job. Michael Bierut wrote a very interesting essay on this manifesto and he wisely commented that "the greatest designers have always found ways to align the aims of their corporate clients with their own personal interests and, ultimately, with the public good'.
Designers and design students need to remember that this is a job. We spend 4 years studying design so that we can earn money, live comfortably and buy the things we want. If you had all the money in the world, why would you bother working at all? Surely you would go lay on a beach somewhere and enjoy your short time on this earth. Life is too short to worry about ethics. Some people might say that if all you want to do in life is earn money, why not do something far more profitable such as prostitution? Well frankly I don't want to sell my body, I want to sell my talents as a designer. Design is something that challenges my brain, keeps me engaged with the world and channels my creativity. If I wanted to be a prostitute I wouldn't be wasting valuable street time writing this blog!
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FoxyTunesLabels: critical studies, first things first, ppd
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