What is design?

This is a question that I've been asking myself a lot lately, the ever lasting why in design.

Design is low art, it's disposable, it should have a function, it should have commercial value, they taught you that in design school, that's how we-designers-differentiate from artist, who are self motivated and their work is about their views. Hence, designers should not put too much emotion in their work, and just answer the brief? It is about what the client wants, right? We all know the answer to that, unless you don't want to pay the bill.

But, is that enough? We are living in a world of design, almost everything is designed in some way or another, people may not always go to art galleries, but at the very least, they go out and buy clothes and furnitures that have been designed, expose to advertisement that's been designed. We might not like to call it, however, this is manipulation in one way or another, manipulating people's behaviours, we just don't want to admit it, instead, we call it culturally significant.

Designers have such big impacts on society, but some how, we are contented to work for such frivolous cause, designing the latest gadgets and toys, packaging for luxurious clothing, all these are directly or indirectly promoting global warming, child labour, extreme commercialism. Somewhere along lines, people seem to ignore the impact designers have, it's easy to blame the big corporations, but what of the people who promoting and representing these corporations? It's so easy to say, 'I just design posters and campaign, it's not my fault the client is an unethical company.'

Ken Garland wrote the originally First Things First Manifesto in 1964, then in 1999, Adbusters published the updated First Things First Manifesto 2000, asking designers to rethink their value and the power they possess, and hopefully lead to changes.

This is where Massive Change comes in, it is practical, it does not deliver empty promises, or talk about the latest attempt at sustainable designs. It covers sciences, technology, renewable powers, and what really is happening with the rest of world. In this book, Bruce Mau led by example, how to apply his skill as designers for such causes.

Graphic designers and other visual communicators may not have skill and knowledge to develop tissue engineering, but we help promote it.

There has to be more to life than designing the latest Asda Christmas commercial.