Dissertation Proposal & Summer Reading

What is Good? 

To what extent does Social Responsibility impact on the role and function of Graphic Design?

Towards the end of second year I started to take more of an interest in work that had some sort of real world value. By this I mean trying to tackle issues that are currently on going in society that I could either bring light to or improve in some way. This is why I started my research based off the question above, to start looking into social responsibility and the designer.

Over summer I read a lot more into the subject, taking information from a lot of different sources including David Berman's 'Do Good', Steven Heller's 'Citizen Designer' and Victor Papanek's 'Design for the Real World', both of which were eye opening simply because of their strong ideals for what is essentially a more considered approach to design as a whole. I think that Berman's approach to design is very much a big inspiration for myself, he suggests that rather than just doing good design, we should just do good within everything we do. This is key because 'good design' could be interpreted in many different ways depending on the individual themselves. So rather than questioning if 'good design' is aesthetically pleasing, ergonomic or ethically considered design, we can instead put more of a focus on doing good all around, for the better of others, the society and our world as a whole.

Something that I need to do before I really begin to write my dissertation is define the term 'good', as this is something that is still a very ambiguous subject. To me 'good' is an overarching term for a small range of other words that hold their own meaning such as worthwhile, valuable or ethical. Most importantly I think that for something to be 'good' it's to be considered; consideration for others around you, the society you live etc. Because as a designer you should be taking responsibility for your own actions which is key for considering the effects and impact our designs could potentially have on others. Whether that means consideration for those less able or those who are in need in some way, it all should come into consideration through the design process.