Very good article and short film here via The Guardian.
Debate between Nevile Brody and Ben Evans that is generally centered on the current LDF and ADF ( London design Festival and Alternative Design festival - both of which I have already flagged up here repeatedly ).
I have issues with both of them - Brody can sometimes be obtuse for the sake of it and has made some contrary and plain stupid comments on other designers in the past - and I used to know Ben Evans quite well, I went to college with him ( his real name is Benjamin Blackstone-Evans, Baronet of Stoke Newington ) and I grew to really dislike him - and I'm afraid that both of them suffer the concequences of extreme but polarised elitism. Brody, at least - is a designer, Evans is an administrator and opportunist - but read the article carefully and listen to what they have to say - and try and understand what Andrew Dickinson is suggesting with his reporting.
"...... but as the global financial crisis struggles to heal itself, designers everywhere continue to suffer. The recession has not been kind to studios worldwide, and British designers face the possible demise of the Design Council (its future is under government review). Some 60,000 designers of all kinds will graduate from UK colleges this year, says Brody; it's no longer clear how many of them will have jobs in the industry.
Evans thinks this may be a good thing. "The recession has brought a bit of a cleanout," he says. "I'm strongly of the view that what we've lost is the mediocre. But the good has to work a bit harder."
Brody agrees. "Graduates are starting to ask questions about meaning, about role, about context. For 20 years, it's been a given that you go to college, you get trained up to do a job, and the main thing you're focusing on is getting the best-paid position and the best-polished output. That's changed."
Did you see Brody on newsnight talking about information design?
ReplyDeleteHe immediately forfeited any points he may have made by turning the conversation onto ‘Thatcher's War on Society’ at every opportunity, when it was totally irrelevant. He then moved onto plugging his anti-design festival (bought to you by the london design festival).
Yeah - I think it's on here somewhere - that's what I was referring to when I said 'elitist' - you eventually get to a point when you live in a bubble and believe your own publicity - I think his work now is so ugly, he's still relevant and has interesting things to say - but you all have to make your own judgements about design and make your own choices - don't slavishly follow icons.
ReplyDeleteExcept me - obviously
The ADF manifesto makes huge claims about remembering "why we are here" and "revolutionary thought". He says his generation of 'freethinkers who were out to simply improve society' were replaced by a generation where culture=money (thanks to Thatcher and Reagan of course!) however, that sits in contradiction against the fact that Brody et al have made a fair amount in their careers from this so called danger-less, unchallenging culture that they lament so much.
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling Brody just wants to see the "design world" shaken up just for the heck of it - to see what happens, to see anarchy reign. This movement is about breaking free of design just for commercial purpose - the ideas that were rejected. I get that point and it resonants with me.
The thing is, most ideas are left behind for a reason. Good design is good design - look at the underground map for London or Fletcher's V&A logo. I wonder if what they are actually upset about is the dilution of the industry - the mediocre, hence their comments about the "clear-out" following the financial crisis.
In the end of the day, the whole industry is based on people buying a designers skills. If what the client sees is not "likeable" in their eyes, (unless of course the cool cats like Brody say it's good and therefore no matter what it is, it is good) they won't buy it and the designer has to work in a shop or in an admin office! You can do loads of design that is just for the sake of it but if no-one wants it then you have to accept the fact that it will just be for your own delectation, much like writing music really. Business may exploit good design for commercial gain, but then it's down to the designer to say yes or no. When you have a mortgage to pay what are you gonna say?
But then I could be talking a load of rubbish!
hmmmm... Is Jonathon after my job?
ReplyDeleteWell said - good points.
Brody has to remember that he is in a position - financially and professionally, to create such unmarketable design, grab press attention and still make a living.
At the start of his career he made a decent living in a difficult commercial environment because he was a well liked, fashionable music industry designer who was able to churn out 'trendy' design solutions for the more left field end of the music industry at speed and little cost, may of which were stylistic and would not hold up to much scrutiny.
That's where his career started and took off. This position gave him the security and contacts he needed to be able to take risks but have the confidence to work the way he wanted. Once he became established through The Face he could do almost anything he wanted because people bought into his reputation and authority rather than his design - looking back at much of it now it appears to lead the market because it was 'of it's time' but much of it is quite dreary.
None of that is a criticism - he's a good designer and has contributed much to the industry, but he's in a very priviliged position - and can get away with almost anything, he's the elitist he claims he hates - and in many ways the commercial whore he claims to despise - much of his work is just so... 'Brody' - but that's what the client wants.
We all want to do crazy, creative personal work - but getting the client to accept it is a different matter - design cannot exist in a vacuum for it's own sake... not if you want to earn a living, progress your career... and actually learn anything.