Task 5 - Triangulation

Use the seminar texts discussed in last weeks session to write a short triangulated review of the First Things First manifesto (2000), published originally in AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, vol 17, No 2 (1999).

In 1964, Ken Garland issued First Things First; a manifesto calling upon designers and creative practitioners to rethink their code of ethics relating to the projects and work they undertook, claiming that time invested in the advertising industry was contributing ‘little or nothing to our national prosperity’ (Garland 1999. p. 154). The modified manifesto, first published in Adbusters in 1999, places a great deal more urgency on our need, as designers, to utilize our talents as a deflection of Capitalism – arguing that ‘consumerism is running uncontested’ in contemporary society. (2002. p. 6) Rick Poyner offers a comprehensive explanation as to the reason why designers so hastily disregarded the original call for action, referring to the economic boom of the 1960’s and the glamour and prosperity to be found in the consumer market at the time. Poyner undoubtedly argues in favor of the manifesto, stating that the imbalance addressed initially by Garland is, today, more pressing than ever – with ‘brand-meisters and marketing gurus’ creating lavishly funded projects ‘which consume most of graphic designers’ time, skills and creativity’ (Poyner 2002. p. 6, p. 9)

Graphic designer, critic and educator, Michael Bierut responded to such claims with a solid contradictory defense in his analysis: Ten Footnotes to a Manifesto. He casts doubt upon the credibility of the 33 signatories who collectively ‘specialize in extraordinarily beautiful things for the culturally elite’ (Bierut 2002. p. 27) and have no experience to speak of within corporate design. Designers, he argues, view the advertising world with a ‘measure of envy’ due to their ranking within the creative industry; ‘graphic designers have long dwelled at the bottom of the pond’ (Bierut 2002. p. 27.) Also addressed is the manifesto’s link between advertising and society’s apparent consumer-driven morality nose-dive, disputing that some of the most successful work for social causes (HIV awareness and gender equality within the arts) has been a product of advertising, something First Things First wishes us to believe is comprised predominantly of manipulation and deceit.

As Poyner so eloquently puts it, the 2000 manifesto draws attention to the ever growing distinction between ‘design as communication (giving people necessary information) and design as persuasion (trying to get them to buy things)’. It is completely irrational to deny that advertising can be a useful tool to society but at present ‘we have absorbed design so deeply into ourselves’ that progression from a creative education into a commercial design background seems completely natural and unquestionable. (Poyner 2002. p. 8, p.6)

In comparison, Matt Soar offers a relatively impartial analysis of the declaration and focuses primarily on answering the question of which echelons of society are likely to be affected and to what degree. In his text, First Things First: Now More Than Ever, he asserts that, on the most basic of levels, the manifesto aims to encourage designers to ‘address their many audiences as citizens rather than consumers’ (2002. p. 13.). A view echoed to some extent by Bierut who adamantly claims that commercial design and social virtue need not be separate entities at all, stating that the most admirable designers have always managed ‘to align the aims of corporate clients with their own personal interests and, ultimately, with the public good.’ (Bierut 2002. p. 30.)

Bibliography

Garland, K. (1964) First Things First. In Bierut, M., Helfand, J., Heller., S., Poyner, R. eds. (1999) Looking Closer 3. New York: Allworth Press. Pp. 154-155.

First Things First 2000. (1999) In Bierut, M., Drenttel, W., Heller. eds. (2002) Looking Closer 4. New York: Allworth Press. Pp. 5-6.

Poyner, R. (1999) First Things First: A Brief History. In Bierut, M., Drenttel, W., Heller. eds. (2002) Looking Closer 4. New York: Allworth Press. Pp. 6-10.

Soar, M. (1999) First Things First 2000. In Bierut, M., Drenttel, W., Heller. eds. (2002) Looking Closer 4. New York: Allworth Press. Pp. 10-13.

Bierut, M. (2000) A Manifesto with Ten Footnotes. In Bierut, M., Drenttel, W., Heller. eds. (2002) Looking Closer 4. New York: Allworth Press. Pp. 26-31.