ETHICS AND AGENCY 1 281025
– Original written from the point of a freelancer
– Interesting how its changed over time
Reflecting on Rick Poynor’s brief history of the First Things First manifesto and its predecessors, discuss:
What are the most urgent ethical issues facing graphic designers now?
– AI – fastest changing factor right now. Why? Inspo sources, how we think, basic skills, degradation of skills, moral question, betraying something but I do see the value. Linked to climate change – using it hurst the planet
– Environment/climate change
– Wealth inequality – as the rich get richer, do we need to do more commercial work?
– Trends – less originality? Following trends has no point, or does it?
– Inspiration comes mainly from more digital spaces – makes designers anxious or affected emotionally, TENDENCY TO WORK DIGITALLY and find start online rather than offline.
– Addicted to screens
What would you add to a FTF manifesto for 2025?
– Individual agency to work offline
– Self care and a metal health aspect, it doesn’t talk about looking inwards
– No stealing
Selecting one of these ethical issues, discuss:
How do the current conditions of the graphic design industry enable or inhibit your ability to address this issue through your practice? “Individual agency to work offline”
– It fails, we’re always online and need a structure for offline
– Human connection – working with people, mentorship professionally in an age of remote working
– Balance and discipline personally, remembering to mix on and offline
– Jonathan Crary, 24-7, Somerset house reference
– https://thedisconnect.co magazine, you can only access it with wifi off
– “Legacy media” – Ben’s definition for the good old days of the Internet
– Survey, interview, co-design – relevant to my project now? I wonder if there is a set of principals I can define for my next stage.
– Forensic Architecture mentioned, project, Grenfell Tower.
– Book of the Homeless
– Soldiers, Wolfgang Tillmans
– Audience – Waste Age exhibition design, news ways of doing exhibition graphics that is more sustainable.
ETHICAL CONTEXT – BENEFITS
– Environmental – Is a book the right format? Did they reduce costs by considering colour, printing, format?
Would it be better as a throwaway format or is the printing, the permanence the idea, to claim space.
THEY COULD HAVE IGNORED ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN FAVOUR OF THE SOCIAL IMPACT
– SOCIAL AND RACIAL. Micro, really goes into detail. You want to meet the people. Does it need to be macro or not? See a wider view? The specificity is the beauty. Where did the supply chain end and begin? Lack of Bias – you can make up your own mind as wider contexts are not mentioned. Platforming happened, university degrees, Workshops, Education aspect.
– DESIGN AND LANGUAGE. Therapeutic ends.
Is there a way to disseminate or franchise this?
‘The workshops, as well as the printing of the book, was entirely crowdfunded. All profits from the sale of the publication will ultimately be shared between the authors and fed back into The Accumulate Art School for the Homeless.’
There is an assumption that people want to get off the street! Some don’t.
– ACADEMIC. The curation of it is minimal.
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GROUP EXERCISE
– Could it be a group of homeless artists?
– Make it global, benefit more people in more places
– Syndicate it – get it out there.
– Could it be a pack?
OPENING NIGHT
– EMPTY PRINTED BOOK IS SEN TOUT INTO TEH HOMELSEE COMMUNICTY
– NETWORK OF CHARITIES
– ARCHIVE
– THE PUBLIC WOULD COME IN, to really connect with their stories.
– No money would change hands, instead advice, connection, resources, a place to stay.
‘The Homelessness Network is a connected group of creatives who have nowhere to call home. Sketchbooks were sent out to a set of locations globally, to be filled in and shared by the local homeless community. A few pages, a poem, a chapter, whatever the contribution it has been included in these once-empty sketchbooks books to make one unfiltered narrative of lived homeless experience now. Tonight, these books are being exhibited in community spaces around the world. The contributors will all be present to share their stories and connect with you and each other out of mutual respect.
No money has changed hands in the homeless network, instead contributors and readers can share advice, resources or a roof for the night fort the benefit of everyone.’
(Anna did the design, I wrote the blurb, we call discussed the concept)