Monday, October 19, 2009

at what point me as a designer can say no to the art director?

the list mentioned in the introduction of the book "Citizen Designer" really did capture my attention! after reading a lot of words about what is Graphic Design and is it related to the citizenship and all that, to say the truth it was boring for me! maybe it is not the kind of things i like to read! but when i saw the list and first heard it from the instructor in class i was so curious to learn what is behind it and what is it really about! i believe because i do not read much i felt that it is the first time i hear such a true list about the market nowadays. then came the question, if i was the designer and the art director asked me to do what was in the list, at what point of that list i will say NO sorry i can not do that?

and here is the list with what i can do and what i think i wont accept,

1. Designing a package to look bigger on the shelf, this is normal i think in the market and it is part of advertising and branding the product. it is not a huge bad thing from my point of view. on the other hand, i think it does harm the customer, for example, when i buy Lays chips and open it and only find 4 or 5 slices !! i get really angry ! i feel that i payed for the package not for what is in the package!

2. designing an Ad for a slow, boring film to make it seem like a light-hearted comedy. Well, if i did design something very good and impressive for me and for the Art director i would have done the best work ever! for making something interesting which grabbed people's attention! therefore, bring more money for the film makers! i think business is going to that direction which is disappointing!

3. Designing a promotion for a diet product that you know doesn't work. food companies always invent things and say its 0% fat ! and its never right! they are just promoting the product. and as i learned customers and their target audience are not stupid they do know what is the truth !


4. Designing a package for children whose contents you know are low in nutrition value and high in sugar content, i would agree to design such a package because of the market, children they do eat a lot of colored sweets which are so not good for their health, and companies will never stop inventing new things so parents should have the decision to not get them the things which are bad to their health ! but for designing a package, i do not think it is such a problem for me.

5. Designing a crest for a new vineyard to suggest that it has been in business for a long time. i would agree to do that if it was a good thing! but if it was already bad, i would feel so surprised of how the Art director did take such a project! 

6. designing a medal using steel from the world trade center to be sold as a profit-making souvenir of september 11.

reading through out the list i think these six are the only things i can accept to do, but the other six i would not take it and i would say NO!

here are the six points:

1. Designing a jacket for a book whose sexual content you find personally repellent.
2. Designing an advertising campaign for a company with a history of known discrimination in minority hiring.
3. designing a line of T-shirts for a manufacturer that employes child labor
4. Designing a brochure for an SUV that turned over frequently in emergency conditions and was known to have killed 150 people.
5. Designing an Ad for a product whose frequent use could result in the user's death.
6. Designing an Ad for a political candidate whose policies you believe would be harmful to the general public.

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