Watching David Berman speak makes you forget that you’re supposed to be learning something. A bundle of hyperactivity, the Canadian designer approaches the question of ‘can design help save the world’ as a both a professional challenge and exciting opportunity.
A welcome break from the dark and stormy forecasts and predictions made by the scientific, government and media communities, Berman’s outlook on ‘world-saving is refreshingly sunny. He says that rather than “beating ourselves-up” about the past, as “movers of ideas” it’s up to designers to choose between sharing ideas that further social and environmental justice and those that simply exploit a new market.
Unleashing the power of new technology
“More people have been liberated in the last 10 years by information technology that all of the wars and revolutions in the history of humanity” says Berman. As the creative masters of this technology, Berman suggests that designers have never been more powerful. However with this power comes responsibility – Berman predicts that designers will increasingly need to make some important decisions.
“ Right now to 4 billion humans, the Internet is just a rumour. But in the next 10 years the majority of humans will have access. But the experience won’t be on a computer screen it will be on the small screen – the truly mobile screen. When we get there, will we use [small screen interactions] to convince larger and larger populations that they don’t really belong in our societies? That they have to be whiter, or taller or smell nicer? Will we use it to ‘trick’ them into buying more stuff they don’t need or will we use it to share ideas that really deserve to be shared?”
Design for good versus the ‘Greed Disorder’.
The marketing mantra ‘consumption is good, more consumption is better’ pervades much of the work that designers do. However Berman proposes that this needn’t be the case.
In Ghana, where 20% of pharmaceuticals are fake designers have worked with companies to create a labelling system. A parent of a sick child SMSs the product barcode for verification as to whether or not the product is legitimate – “It’s a beautiful, simple communication idea that saves lives.” says Berman.
This is in stark contrast with traditional marketing based on the ‘buy more’ ethos. Says Berman, “from Zanzibar to Ottawa, Coke is literally on every street corner in Africa, it is the signage for schools, hospitals, as official town markers.”
And while we can all appreciate the brand’s cleverness, Berman says it lacks wisdom - “the 1000s of Coke-branded street signs in Zanzibar have people thinking that it is medicine, the cost of one can of coke is the same as a dose of anti-malaria medicine, a preventable disease that kills more than 1 million African children each year.”
“The design profession is an old one and we get to choose what its all about. Hoping that most choose to share the faith the world needs – democracy, telecommunications, hope and justice - it’s the stuff the world really needs, not selling more sugar water to children in Africa.”
Designers have a choice.
Designers can choose to perpetuate myths or we can decide to tell the truth. “In Canada, we have more fresh water on earth, but we import bottled water from France.. We create ads that sexualise girls to sell something that isn’t necessary. 57 years ago coffee ads appeared in Life magazine that gave a man permission to beat his wife. While some things have changed, designers have the power to decide how we use our skills and which stories and messages we choose to promote.” says David.
While there is an ethical case to be made for designers doing the right thing, David warns that its only a matter of time before the finger will be pointed at the design industry and people saying ‘you’re culpable’.
“Like Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants and other professionals, designers have a special power to influence society – power becomes a responsibility: how we visually depict people, how we use raw materials such as forest products, what messages we choose to amplify and how we choose to do that – society is willing to say you’ve got to take stewardship”.
Is it time for a code of ethics for the design industry?
In May 2000, The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada adopted a code of ethics for graphic designers. Like the Hippocratic oath for Doctors, or being a registered certified builder or architect, for Graphic Designers the commitment is “That as a designer I’m not just going to enjoy the aesthetic of creating beautiful objets, I recognise that an extra special power from my society is being provided to me and I recognise the opportunities this provides and how I can use my skills to do something better.”
Says Berman of the code, “We can talk the specifics of sustainability, but really the ethics of design needs to change, and to do this we need to tie ethics to a professional commitment.” Is it time that Australian Graphic Designers subscribed to a similar code?
“We have an opportunity and ability to create something truly great, and the timing. We are a generation the generation with an amazing opportunity to be a part of creating something completely better, we can design a better world”.
So where do we start?
David Berman says that designers can choose to save the world, and suggests that designers take a pledge. “Commit 10% of your professional time – 4 hours a week – to doing good design to create a just world. There are 1.5 million designers in the world and imagine if each on committed 4 hours a week to doing good design, that’s 60 million hours of design creating a just world.” Berman stresses that this time not be unpaid, and instead says challenges designers to find clients who are doing good things and choosing to put their energy into supporting these people
