Communication design is used to sell products – but even when it is not explicitly engaged in manufacturing consumer desire, design can function to conceal the impacts of conspicuous consumption and the socio-political-economic system through a process known as symbolic violence. While communication design can be used to reveal consequences, illustrate systemic dynamics and facilitate public processes – capitalism needs designers to promote consumption not to critique consumption! The values embedded in capitalism are reproduced by the design industry. Communication design serves not only to whitewash the destructive practices of corporate entities but to perpetuate the point of view of the culturally, politically and economically powerful.
While there is some vague anti-consumerist and anti-corporate rhetoric in design circles – a cynical stance, on its own, will not transform the dysfunctional political systems. What is urgently needed in design is new form of politically, socially and ecologically engaged design practice. The work of building new social relations that can resist and transform political and economic institutions requires transparent, truthful and participatory communication systems. Designers must engage with social movements who have a legacy of creating agency and developing the means to see through oppressive cultural practices. In this way design can become a force for emancipation rather than manipulation.
Presentation at Occupy Design launch January 2012
3. reas sur an c e
fast climate Change Slow climate change
£220 £220 £260 £280 £280 £300
BROWN ‘Green’
TECH African bush Canadian
Beaver sparrows Honey bee
Tech
elephant Fig Trees Starfish
bowhead
tropical
cameron
whale
forest
£200
£340
Slow oil deplesion
Tasmanian
Slow oil deplesion
Coral reef
Amazon
Forest
£180
£340
Yangtze
so ci al learni n g
Boreal
Forest
River
£360
£180
tech n o -fix
E conopoly
Enviropig
£160
Hydrophere
cereal
hybrid
£140
£380
Fast oil depletion
Fast oil depletion
Descent
Energy
Local
Plan
Atmosphere
terminator
gene
£140
£400
Local
Energy
Lake Gulf of Descent ARAL Kalahari Kayapo Madagascan
Victoria Mexico Plan Sea Devil’s Claw people Periwinkle
Coll apse Transition
£120 £100 £100 £80 £60 £60
fast climate Change slow climate change
cr isis ori ent ed
4. £220 £260 £280 £280
Canadian
Beaver sparrows Fig Trees Starfish
E conop oly
Ecology GAmes 2012
5. Design as
Manipulation
The UK advertising industry, worth £17,318M in 2008 (1.2% of GDP),
has plentiful resources to communicate a view of nature that suits
the needs of industry and convince the public that new products and
business as usual are sustainable.
6. Design skills are harnessed to help advertisers communicate
attitudes and values supporting consumer capitalism.
Advertising offers highly paid work for graphic designers but
a recent report by the new economics foundation found that
‘for every £1 of value created by an advertising executive,
£11.50 is destroyed’ (nef 2009).
7.
8. Symbolic violence is perpetuated through design.
The design industry manipulates tastes, desire and identity to
maintain the seductive power of consumer capitalism.
Design serves the needs the capitalism system that is dependent
on both the exploitation of nature and the invisibility and
remoteness of this dynamic.
9. This visibility of corporate advertising marginalizes environmental
concerns to the point of obscurity.
Truthful information on the state of Earth’s systems cannot compete
with the information overload by advertisers characterizing nature
as infinitely exploitable.
10.
11. Design as
Emanicipation
• Visualizing ecological literacy & sustainability
• Supporting social movements (such as Occupy)
• Politically, socially & ecologically engaged design practice
14. Recent temperature changes GLOBAL STEP 2
Temperature Choice
Models vs. Scenarios
Bars show the range in
year 2100 produced by
several scenarios.
6.0
5.5
5.0
A1FI - Rapid growth, fossil fuel intensive.
Temperature Rise, degrees Celsius
4.5
Temperature Rise, degrees Celsius.
A2 - High energy consumption, rapid population growth.
4.0
A1B - Rapid growth, balanced energy sources.
3.5
B2 - Environmental preservation and local solutions.
3.0
A1T - Rapid growth, new, non-carbon, technology.
2.5
IS92a - "Business as usual" IPCC.
2.0
B1 - Environmentally and socially conscious global approach.
1.5
1.0
0.5 Scenarios
A1B
0.0
A1T
A1FI
-0.5 A2
B1
-1.0 B2
IS92a
1700 1800 1900 2000 2100
Year
"The Game Plan" slideset release 1.0, March 13 2008 43
21. Planetary Boundaries
Climate Change
Nit
ro
ge
n
ss &
Lo Ph
ity o
s
sp
er
ho
iv
ru
od
s
Bi
Cy
cle
s
Ocean A
System Change
cidification
Land
Ch
n
em
io
et
ic
l
ep
al
D
P
ol
er lu
at tio
W n
h
es
Fr
Ozon
e and Aerosol
Humanity has already transgressed three planetary boundaries: for climate change, rate of biodiversity loss and changes to the global nitrogen cycle.