We live in an unfair capitalist system and society, based on expectation and inequality - how can we exist within this society?
What is it to be an ethical creative?
A lot of writers conflate the creative acts of advertising with the evils and problems of the consumer system and the related systems of poverty, exploitation etc. Some of the writers blame advertising for the whole of the world's problems.
First Things First by Ken Garland, 1964
- Less of a manifesto in a political sense, but was a manifesto in the sense that it was signed by a bunch of famous designers, advertisers and art directors of the time.
- Produced in the 'boom' of consumerism - post war affluence.
- All of the creatives genuinely felt frustrated that creatives were wasting their talents on market-less commodities.
- A celebration of the designer, but also a sigh to the exploitation of creative talents in the capitalist system.
- 'We're proposing a reversal of priorities' - Pointless to waste talent, and talent should be used in a more whole hearted way.
First Things First Manifesto by Adbusters, 2000
- Talking about advertising through spoof adverts, not through poverty.
- They think of themselves as a very political group
- Journal of the mental environment
- Decided to redraft the First Things First Manifesto - the tone changes so that it isn't just a cry about wasting creative talent, and becomes more critical and venomous
- Tempting to smash the advertising system
"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."
- Designing is about earning money and big glamorous jobs.
"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."- All in a professional manufacturing demand for nothing, making people but things they don't need. They are accusing you of being complicity in perpetuating a meaningless consumer system.
- Roping you all into global expectation.
"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"- You are actually affecting the way people think about each other and themselves, and how they interact with one another. Meant to be a negative effect on how people interact amongst themselves.
"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."- How do you judge worthy? And by who's standards do you decide what is worthy and what is unworthy?
"We propose a reversal of priorities in favour of more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication – a mindshift 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."- If you work to market, advertise or brand a company, who make any sort of consumer items, you are being unethical. You are perpetuating consumerism and capitalism, ruining the world.
- You shouldn't be doing so, you should be using your talents to smash capitalism and start a revolution.
- Use your visual communicative talent to show everyone the evils of capitalism.
The tone throughout the manifesto becomes very tutorial, preachy and judgemental.
- To be an ethical designer, you have to be anti capitalist (under the First Things First Manifesto, 2000)
- Many of the people who signed this new manifesto are very wealthy and successful designers, for example Milton Glaser. These people don't need to worry about paying the bills or where the next job is coming from, because they are all successful with studios and famous. It's easy to have ethics if you have more money than other people. Much more of a problem if you're an emerging designer. Sometimes you don't have the luxury to chose who you're working for, and who you don't. An unfair, blanket of judgement, to look down at people.
- If this is a call to rebalance or create a fair system, then there is a total agreement. The blame should not be just on designers. There needs to be a balance.
- It's not fundamentally unethical to have a symbolic mind of protest. Who cares if you choose not to work for, let's say Primark, or buy from them. Ethics do not change through buying one or two socks, it's the system that is in place.
- To be an ethical designer / advertiser is to aim to have more with your talents than just have a job.
- 'Culture Jamming / Meme Warfare' - Adbusters & Kalle Lasn
“A meme (rhymes with dream) is a unit of information (a catchphrase, a concept, a tune, a belief) that leaps from brain to brain to brain. Memes compete with one another for replication, and are passed down through a population much the same way genes pass through a species. Potent memes can change minds, alter behavior, catalyze collective mindshifts, and transform cultures. Which is why meme warfare has become the geopolitical battle of our information age. Whoever has the memes has the power.”- A meme is something that sticks in your head, for example the song for McDonalds "I'm loving it". This circulates the world virally.
- Given that power that creative advertisers have over the world, what happens if something great comes from that talent and a message overthrows capitalism?
- Replacing the system of capitalism
A lot of theory came out in the 70s, which tried to formulate a broadly anti-capitalist theory of design. The Adbusters theory is a lightweight version of these.
Design For The Real World by Victor Papanek, 1971
"Most things are designed not for the needs of the people but for the needs of manufacturers to sell to people" (Papanek, 1983:46)
- Made the same argument that most design was wasteful, exploitative and creative talents didn't enrich the world.
- Behind the whole book is a cry for ethics.
- Conflated advertising with the 'horrors' of capitalism.
- Seeks a grander purpose for creative individuals - he wants people to use their skills to do something more important in the world.
- Sensationalist tone.
- Came up with this diagram as a cry for ethics and how we're just touching the surface on issues. There are more urgent things that need our attention.
We can't just escape Capitalism, we live in this system.
Ultimately we are going to have to work in the consumer system, we have no other choice.
How do we determine what is Good?
Subjective Relativism
- There are no universal moral norms of right and wrong
- All persons decide right and wrong for themselves
- This would result in social anarchy, with no form of debate. The idea of society breaks down.
Cultural Relativism
- The ethical theory that what's right or wrong depends on place and / or time.
- Flawed in the sense that not all cultures are the same.
- Cultural irrelevances can't marry the ideas of other cultures.
- In a globalised world, we have to share some idea of values.
Divine Command Theory
- Good actions are aligned with the will of God
- Bad actions are contrary to the will of God
- The holy book helps make the decisions
- Not based on reason, it is based on dogma and rules that you have to follow.
Kantianism
- Immanuel Kant (1724 -1804) a German Philosopher
- People's wills should be based on moral rules
- Therefore it's important that our actions are based on appropriate moral rules
- To determine when a moral rule is appropriate Kant proposed two 'Categorical Imperatives'.
- Unlike animals, we consider every action we take. We don't just murder someone when we're angry, we think about how to deal with our anger.
Two formulations of the Categorical Imperative:
Act only from moral rules that you can at the same time universalise
- If you act on a moral rule that would cause problems if everyone followed it then your actions are not moral.
e.g. 'I am never going to give any money to charity' - If no one gave money to charity, then this comes unethical. The idea of charity is something we all rely on in our live at some point. Charity can be being nice to you as a child, or helping you when you're old.
Act so that you always treat both yourself and other people as ends in themselves, and never only as a means to an end.
- If you use people for your own benefit that is not moral.
e.g. you should not lie to or deceive other people to further your cause. This imperative is flawed.
Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill)
Principle of Utility (aka Greatest Happiness Principle)
- An action is right to the extent that it increases the total happiness of the affected parties
- An action is wrong to the extent that it decreases the total happiness of the affected parties
- Happiness may have many definitions such as: advantage, benefit, good or pleasure
Rules are based on the Principle of Utility
- A rule is right to the extent that it increases the total happiness of the affected parties
- The Greatest Happiness Principle is applied to moral rules
Similar to Kantianism - both pertain to rules
- But Kantianism uses the Categorical Imperative to decide which rules to follow
Social Contract Theory
- Thomas Hobbes (1603 - 1679) and Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778)
- An agreement between individuals held together by common interest
- Avoids society degenerating into the 'state of nature' or the 'war of all against all' (Hobbes)
- "Morality consists in the set of rules governing how people are to treat one another, that rational people will agree to accept, for their mutual benefit, on the condition that others follow those rules as well."
- We trade some of our liberty for a stable society.
- We have laws and regulations for the sake of the stability of the world.
- To be ethical is to think about the common good, more than individual gain.
Margaret Thatcher came up with a formulation that said that there is no such sense of society, and that individuals are just trying to find their way in the world. She said that if everyone became rich, then society will be happy.
Whether presented with problems that are easy or difficult to solve, the four workable ethical theories (Kantianism, Act Utilitarianism, Rule Utilitarianism and Social Contract Theory) could provide us with possible solutions to many of the problems that are raised by the 'First Things First' manifesto. We should all be aiming for socially and ecologically responsible design.
Papanek - A workable radio which can be made from rubbish and powered on elephant dung, so that anyone can make it for themselves and use it, in places like Africa. Designed not for profit, but for the greater gain.
Papanek suggested the Social Tithe. The fact that there is more stuff we can do to change the world and not waste our talents. A Tithe is an old term for something that you would give away for free, something that the state determined e.g. a land owner could give 10% of their corn for the poor to stabilise society. Papanek says that designers should devote 10% of their time to really work while ethical causes. If everyone did that, the whole world would be improved. Ethical in terms of social contract as it helps to stabilise society and build links.
Stefan Sagmeister spent an entire year in sabbatical, to explore the world and be useful. That is his 10%.
Something needs to be done to change this perverse world of Capitalism.
Capitalism Statistics:
- The assets of the worlds top three billionaires are greater than those of the poorest 600 million on the planet
- More than a third of the worlds population (2.8 billion)live on less than two dollars a day
- 1.2 billion live on less than one dollar a day
- In 2002 34.6 million Americans lived below the official poverty line (8.5 million of those had jobs!) Black American Poverty double that of whites
- Per capita income in sub-Saharan Africa =$490
- Per capita subsidy for European cows = $913
- Would basically be cheaper to eat Africans than a cow - totally unethical!
