Design Loves a Depression
In a recent New York Times Article called “Design Loves a Depression”, writer Michael Cannell argues that “…the design world could stand to come down a notch or two.” And while he’s mostly talking about designers of boutique furniture, the point holds for the general design world, as well.
Being a designer has been known to feed the ego. Designers have highly developed sensibilities that make us very aware of subtleties in art, music, food, etc. There’s also a certain “cool factor” that artists and designers benefit from. And there’s nothing wrong with these things. Enjoying subtlety can bring much joy to a person’s life. And let’s face it – everyone wants to be cool.
The trouble starts when this goes to our heads. As soon as we think of ourselves as “special” members of society, our connection with the world starts to break down. And now is not the time for breaking connections.
Come Together, Right Now
Now IS the time for designers to show what truly makes us valuable: our ability to think critically and solve problems. Sure, color and typography are important, but would you rather have a beautiful website or a website that helped you make money? The world is in economic straits right now, which is giving business owners more problems than they’re used to. And designers are the people who can solve them.
Those of us who run small design studios or work freelance are in an even better position to help. Running a home-based studio and keeping staff to a minimum keeps our overheads low. This allows us to pass better pricing on to small and mid-sized businesses who simply cannot afford big agency prices.
As we’ve seen before, designers hold a lot of power to affect change. If we keep our heads about us, we can be a big part of the solution to these hard times.
-Braden