1 TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE 'FIRST THING'S FIRST 2000' MANIFESTO RELEVANT TO MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN?
“We, the undersigned, are graphic designers, art directors and visual communicators who have been raised in a world in which the techniques and apparatus of advertising have persistently been presented to us as the most lucrative, effective and desirable use of our talents. Many design teachers and mentors promote this belief; the market rewards it; a tide of books and publications reinforces it. Encouraged in this direction, designers then apply their skill and imagination to sell dog biscuits, designer coffee, diamonds, detergents, hair gel, cigarettes, credit cards, sneakers, butt toners, light beer and heavy-duty recreational vehicles. Commercial work has always paid the bills, but many graphic designers have now let it become, in large measure, what graphic designers do. This, in turn, is how the world perceives design. The profession’s time and energy is used up manufacturing demand for things that are inessential at best. Many of us have grown increasingly uncomfortable with this view of design. Designers who devote their efforts primarily to advertising, marketing and brand development are supporting, and implicitly endorsing, a mental environment so saturated with commercial messages that it is changing the very way citizen-consumers speak, think, feel, respond and interact. To some extent we are all helping draft a reductive and immeasurably harmful code of public discourse. There are pursuits more worthy of our problem-solving skills. Unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises demand our attention. Many cultural interventions, social marketing campaigns, books, magazines, exhibitions, educational tools, television programmes, films, charitable causes and other information design projects urgently require our expertise and help. We propose a reversal of priorities in favour of more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication – a mind-shift away from product marketing and toward the exploration and production of a new kind of meaning. The scope of debate is shrinking; it must expand. Consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part, through the visual languages and resources of design. In 1964, 22 visual communicators signed the original call for our skills to be put to worthwhile use. With the explosive growth of global commercial culture, their message has only grown more urgent. Today, we renew their manifesto in expectation that no more decades will pass before it is taken to heart.” (Adbusters (1999) : Eye no. 33 vol. 9). The manifesto, originally written in 1964 was re-written by Adbusters in the year 2000 to refresh it’s meaning, make it more relevant to the 21st century and renew its interest in the design world. The publishing of the revisited First Things First manifesto stimulated discussions about the power of design and modern culture as well as the problems that the relationship between them have developed in our society which we seem to have just accepted without hesitation. Young designers are becoming completely
Alex Dyson / Level 5 / BA (Hons) Graphic Design
2 TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE 'FIRST THING'S FIRST 2000' MANIFESTO RELEVANT TO MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN?
unaware of the responsibility that they possess with the solutions they pitch to suited businessmen with a common objective of moving money from the consumer’s pocket, to their own, as mentioned by David Berman, "The eye is the largest bandwidth pipe into the human brain, and graphic designers spend their days designing what goes in. When you leverage such power in order to deceive people, then those cleverly crafted messages and images become lies. We have a responsibility to not exploit this power.” (Berman D (2009) : p 61). The problems highlighted in the manifesto’s second paragraph describe perfectly why designers everywhere need an eye-opener and a small nudge to re-think what they are doing from the moment they finish their cereal until they go to bed. In this consumerism-orientated culture, the work of graphic designers has transformed from development of a better way of life into the most effective weapon of persuasion used against everyone living and breathing in our surroundings. This is backed up by David Berman’s quote "Adbusters magazine founder Kalle Lasn claims that most North Americans can only identify 10 plants, yet can recognise 1000 corporate brands. [...] The average American encounters over 3000 promotional visual messages each day (up from 560 in 1971)." (Berman D (2009) : p 61) And Anthony Pratkanis’ description, "The successful persuasion tactic is one that directs and channels thoughts so that the target thinks in a manner agreeable to the communicator's point of view; the successful tactic disrupts any negative thoughts and promotes positive thoughts about the proposed course of action.". (Pratkanis A & Aronson E (2004) : p 31). The manifesto itself is crying out to designers around the world to stop working for businesses promoting inessential products that do nothing beneficial towards our society or the human race. It mentions specifically that in our modern world there are so many social, environmental and cultural issues that need addressing as well as cultural operations and further operations and organisations deemed advantageous to our lifestyles and welfare that require our skills and experience as designers to communicate to the world. The tremendous power of consumerism is expressed as a winning foe against our societies and it’s biggest weapon and weakness is visual communication, which in turn, gives us collectively as designers the capability and potential to turn things around. If we take a moment to look at the individual elements of the manifesto then it is clearer to define what is still relevant fourteen years on. If we begin with the introduction statement, this illustrates the background of the designers that the manifesto is aimed at. This introduction demonstrates the consumerist culture we have been raised in which has resulted in our skills and talents shaping those consistent issues, making us, therefore being the
Alex Dyson / Level 5 / BA (Hons) Graphic Design
3 TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE 'FIRST THING'S FIRST 2000' MANIFESTO RELEVANT TO MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN?
front-line reason as to why the most inessential of products have become the every-day consumer’s biggest desires in life. Our teachers are directing us how to work like this, our predecessors and idols work like this and masses of literature promotes this way of working in every way. Naturally, as it describes in the second paragraph, with so much influence around us, we are subconsciously made to believe that this is the right way to work and this is what graphic design is. This, I believe to still be the case in 2014. If anything, the situation has gotten only worse in respect to the marketing world we live in. From an early age we are continuously plugged with information about brands, products and false values that these products will deliver. Sculpting us into a being obsessed with achieving these values by purchasing inessential products, or keeping brand loyalty because of how they individually make us feel. A number of authors and designers have discussed how visual communication is effecting our subconscious happiness and keeping us trapped in a circuit of consuming needless products, or spending more than necessary on products with a preferred name/logo inserted, Foley (2011), Berman (2009), and Pratkanis (2004) all mention their thoughts on the subject. For example Berman when discussing consumer’s relationships with brands in his book “Do Good Design” writes "We know that 60 percent of consumers prefer the comfort and security of a national brand over a noname product or service, and that preference extends to all products sold under that brand. Try on the example of Nike baseball caps. Nike made its reputation by delivering quality shoes, and built a customer base who trusted its brand. So when Nike chooses to sell baseball caps, the same group of loyal customers is ready to consume such hats because they believe that Nike would only make great products. Then Nike adds a huge Nike logo on the front of the cap. Now consumers have another reason to buy the product: they can publicly proclaim their membership in the Nike club and align themselves with a reputation of quality and style. Thus a $4 hat becomes a $19.95 hat (plus a free walking billboard for Nike) even though Nike is not an innovator in the hat-making industry." (Berman D (2009) : p 51). This is backed up by the fact that Pratkanis in his book “The Age of Propaganda” describes "Clearly, then, the mass media do affect some of our most fundamental beliefs and opinions and can even lead us to purchase an advertised brand of product or to support the destruction of other human beings." (Pratkanis A & Aronson E (2004) : p 30). Foley enforces these opinions with his book “The Age Of Absurdity” where he says "So the absurdity of happiness is that it is embarrassing to discuss or even mention, impossible to define or measure, may not be achievable at all - or, at best, only intermittently and unconsciously - and may even turn into its opposite if directly pursued, but that it frequently turns up unexpectedly in the course of pursuing something else. There is no tease more infuriating." (Foley, M (2011) : p 8). This underlines the fact that not only is our consumerist society
Alex Dyson / Level 5 / BA (Hons) Graphic Design
4 TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE 'FIRST THING'S FIRST 2000' MANIFESTO RELEVANT TO MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN?
ruining how people (including us) see graphic design, how we do it and what we do as a living, but it is also keeping everyone in an unhappy circle of poor attempts at improving one’s life by listening to marketing schemes that are being bombarded at them from every direction imaginable. The next part of the manifesto covers in an indirect form, all of our thoughts as designers on the current situation. We are all uncomfortable with this way of life and the direction in which it has lead us to take our working days. But at the same time, we are all too worried to change these ways in case of hindering our reputation, work-load and of course, income. In turn, we are all reaping an effect among society and ourselves by the way we are thinking, doing, communicating and fuelling power and money to a higher entity for them to provide a new product which is marketed as a gateway to a better way of life than what we already have. Our creative powers being used against ourselves and society has been considered by a variety of different authors and designers. In the book “Do Good Design”, Berman highlights a quote "'What is wrong is a style of life which is presented to be better, when it is directed towards having rather than being.' Pope John Paul II (19202005)" (Berman D (2009) : p 61). Pratkanis & Aronson bring to life the extent of which we can manipulate consumer’s minds for the benefits of no-one but the companies advertised "Sometimes a message can be persuasive even if its arguments are not fully understood or comprehended." (Pratkanis A & Aronson E (2004) : p 31). And finally, Foley backs up the extent of our destructive illusions directed to turn people to the advertised products "One of capitalism's most successful confidence tricks is its promotion of the illusion that anyone can make millions. But there is room at the top for only a few and few have the aptitude to claim a place." (Foley, M (2011) : p 9). The final blow of the manifesto lists the opportunities that lay ahead of us to make a difference in our communities for the better and then goes on to call a war on consumerism and enlighten us to fight along them. It makes a collection of very good points that should be considered by a wider range of people but my thoughts are that the reasons above are playing a big part in the ineffectiveness of the manifesto. I couldn’t agree more with the statement of the message growing to be more and more urgent as time goes on, and for that reason, I believe the manifesto should change in an effort to make a difference. I believe that as much as the manifesto is correct in emphasizing these flaws in our work and society, it is almost impossible for a graphic designer nowadays to live comfortably by this unless they are fairly wealthy to begin with or have other ways of keeping a roof over their heads and food on their tables. They are right in saying that this is what graphic design has become, and unfortunately without complying with these invisible regulations of practice in a consumerist society, said designer will really struggle. In the
Alex Dyson / Level 5 / BA (Hons) Graphic Design
5 TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE 'FIRST THING'S FIRST 2000' MANIFESTO RELEVANT TO MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN?
book “How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul”, Shaughnessy mentions a quote from Peter Saville on the method of practice enlightened by the manifesto "Peter Saville told the Times of London (15 September, 2004): 'The trouble with graphic design today is: when can you believe it? It's not the message of the designer anymore. Every applied artist ends up selling his or her soul at some point. I haven't done it and look at me. People call me one of the most famous designers in the world and I haven't got any money.’” (Shaughnessy, A (2005) : p 27). This backs up the comment I made above very clearly, but leaves a question that ethically orientated designers have been trying to answer for decades, How do we work as a designer focused on ethical issues at the same time as affording to live? If I can answer this question in this essay then I have a very important development from the last manifesto. Berman made some very important points in his book ‘Do Good Design’ which stuck with me, some his own, some from different sources. But whilst reading his book it really helped me understand where the manifesto went wrong. The First Things First manifesto of both 1964 and 2000 worked on influencing designers around the world to drop what they are doing with corporations commissioning them to tactically sabotage consumers’ own opinions and replacing them with influential messages in a variety of different medias in an effort to construct imaginary values of their products which every person desires leading to sales. And instead, use our skills and talent to help charities, educational tools and social marketing communicate their messages to the world to benefit society rather than hinder it. This is a fantastic ideology but in most of our opinions and knowledge, almost completely unrealistic too. My idea is very simple but it would work far more effectively on our modern issues. Rather than disregard any business or enterprise aiming to make money through the form of advertising, which at the end of the day is totally understandable and we all do it through so many variations of media in this day and age and everyone has the right to promote what they are doing. An agreement should be made between the designer and company contact in how the product is promoted. An ethical designer that either signs the newly formed manifesto or simply believes in it should use their creative mind to address the consumer audiences with an honest representation of the product and aim to sell it for what it is and what is good about it, rather than made up values which engage with the audience’s subconscious and unfairly convinces them to spend their hard earned money on a product that will not give them what they wanted. If designers took it upon themselves to abide by this modernized manifesto, we would have a generation of visual communicators who would work on changing society for the better and will begin the process in the slow change of people’s perceptions and relationships with design globally. Tibor Kalman, Edward R. Tufte, Robert L.
Alex Dyson / Level 5 / BA (Hons) Graphic Design
6 TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE 'FIRST THING'S FIRST 2000' MANIFESTO RELEVANT TO MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN?
Peters and David B. Berman have all made very logical inputs that back up my idea of a more realistic solution to our global problem. Tibor Kalman said “Designers: Don't work for companies that want you to lie for them.” (Berman D (2009) : p 49). If this was complied with, more and more companies would begin to realize that what they are asking for is wrong and they would find it hard to find a designer willing to help them lie, whilst designers that are known to work honestly would be far more effective if the consumers knew about it, therefore increasing the chances of companies desiring this kind of designer. This is also backed up by Edward R. Tufte’s quote on what is considered good design "Contempt for the intelligence of the audience engenders graphics that lie... graphic excellence begins with telling the truth.” (Berman D (2009) : p 89). David Berman further supports this evidence with his discussion on the tactical approaches of advertisers and his idea of what good design is: "Advertisers take advantage of weaknesses in our psyche to convince us of false needs that can be satisfied by buying things. Good design should be about what's good about the product, not what is "bad" or vulnerable in the buyer." (Berman D (2009) : p 92). - "Good Design is a strategic, sustainable, ethical response to a business problem." (Berman D (2009) : p 125). Robert L. Peters hits home on the subject by mentioning our children’s lifestyles in the coming future and how the current social climate would effect them “Design creates culture. Culture creates values. Values determine the future. Design is therefore responsible for the world are children will live in.” (Berman D (2009) : p 127). These four designers support the argument in which we find ourselves and make me believe that designers would prioritise this form of working ethically more than how the manifesto instructs as it would develop their creative thinking, reward the company with honest sales from an honest product advert and finally, keep the designer from living uncomfortably. With this investigation and the evidence I have both found and presented, I raise this rewritten ethical manifesto of 2014.
Alex Dyson / Level 5 / BA (Hons) Graphic Design
7 TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE 'FIRST THING'S FIRST 2000' MANIFESTO RELEVANT TO MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN? Â
Honest Things First (2014) We, the undersigned, are graphic designers, students and visual communicators who have grown in a world in which the techniques and apparatus of advertising have persistently been presented to us as the most lucrative, effective and desirable means of using our skills. Encouraged in this direction, designers then apply their skill and creativity to sell sports cars, designer tea bags, diet supplements, tablet computers, credit cards, flat screen TVs, face cream, body cream, shaving cream, after shave cream and whipped cream. Commercial work has always paid the bills, but almost all graphic designers have now let it become, in an extensive measure, what graphic designers do and are. This, in turn, is how the world perceives design. The profession’s time and energy is used up manufacturing demand for things that are inessential at best. Many of us have grown increasingly uncomfortable with this view of design. Designers who devote their efforts primarily to advertising, marketing and brand development are supporting, and implicitly endorsing, a mental and physical environment so saturated with commercial messages that it is continuously changing the very way global consumers speak, think, feel, respond, interact and live. We are all helping continue a reductive and immeasurably harmful code of public discourse that has gone on for too long. There are pursuits more worthy of our problem-solving skills. Unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises demand our attention. Many cultural interventions, social marketing campaigns, books, magazines, exhibitions, educational tools, television programmes, films, charitable causes and other information design projects urgently require our expertise, creativity and help. We propose a change in direction with this harmful form of our work. It is understood that more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication are by far a more ethical to our society and surroundings but also that it would be unrealistic to turn away any other kind of work. What we propose is to work hand in hand with the sources of this ethical collapse in design to producing creative, innovative and most importantly, honest forms of marketing of products. To sell what the product is, not it’s fictitious values that society desires. Be a part of the revolution making design honorable and virtuous once more. Consumerism will be challenged in a new way. In 1964, 22 visual communicators signed the original call for our skills to be put to worthwhile use. In 2000, 33 signed the reformed call. Today, we are asking for the majority of designers across the globe to act on what we have mistakenly allowed. To take part in the redevelopment of our purpose.
Alex Dyson / Level 5 / BA (Hons) Graphic Design
8 TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE 'FIRST THING'S FIRST 2000' MANIFESTO RELEVANT TO MODERN GRAPHIC DESIGN?
Bibliography: Adbusters (1999) Eye no. 33 vol. 9. Berman, D (2009) Do Good Design: How Design Can Change Our World: How Visual Communicators Can Save the World, New Riders Publishing. Foley, M (2011) The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes it Hard to be Happy, Simon & Schuster. Pratkanis, A & Aronson, E (2004) Age of propaganda: the everyday use and abuse of persuasion, Henry Holt Books. Shaughnessy, A (2005) How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul, Laurence King Publishing.
Alex Dyson / Level 5 / BA (Hons) Graphic Design