I Came, I Saw, I Suffered Immensely
In my line of work I get asked a lot of questions, such as “Why are you never around on your personal blog?”, “Did you actually read back what you’ve just written?”, “Where’s the money you owe me?” and “Why can’t you be funnier?”.
I can answer the first question fairly easily. (The other three are more tricky).
When we become the hired guns of greed-driven corporations, we are driven to conform.
If we generate status kitsch for a jaded elite, and allow ourselves to become media celebrities, we perform.
When we twist products to reflect the navel-gazing of market research, we deform.
If our products divorce appearance and other functions – a telephone that looks like a duck and quacks instead of ringing, a clock-radio that looks like a female leg – we misinform.
When our designs are succinct statements of purpose, easy to understand, use, maintain and repair, long-lasting, recyclable, and benign to the environment, we inform.
If we design with harmony and balance in mind, working for the good of the weaker members of our society, we reform.
Being willing to accept the consequences of our design interventions, and accepting our social and moral responsibilities, we give form.
- Victor Papanek, The Green Imperative.
