{ chrislip.com/matthew : blog }
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18 April 2006
As I was working last night, I listened to a number of old podcasts of Debbie Millman's "Design Matters" (an internet talk radio show, if such a thing can really exist). A number of her guests (including Art Chantry and Kenneth Fitzgerald) expressed their narrow, fatalistic, design-just-isn't-what-it-used-to-be views, and it started to get on my nerves. All the craft has been lost, there's nothing of merit among young designers, and we might as well give in to our fate as classless technicians who prostitute whatever scrap of aesthetic sensibility we may possess. Blah, blah...Ellen Lupton, fortunately, came to the rescue. She expressed her fascination with the possibilities afforded by new media, and she lauded the contributions of her graduate students to a recent project of hers (the publication of her latest book, "D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself"). She seemed to attach to the idea that, as expressed by one of her colleagues, we should foster "more creation and less critique." Her optimism was a welcome change to the pessimism that plagues our aging grandfathers of design (among whom sits Milton Glaser, I might add), and she was able to redeem herself from whatever bitterness had carried over from our last encounter (see Signed, a disillusioned design student).
Here's to more creation and less critique.
[ posted by Matthew Chrislip at 16:47 :
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1 Comments:
I know that you and I are similar with regards to personal criticism. While design and creation are essential to my life, I am frequently paralyzed by my fear of designing something imperfect. That fear, of course, was only made worse by the pressure of professors, grades, scholorships, etc. While I take pride in my rigorous design education, it would have been a welcome relief to have some of those external pressures relieved.
I believe design should be socially and environmentally responsible, relevant, innovative, progressive, and fun. But what about the design process? With a little less pressure to succeed in all those areas (mostly from myself), perhaps the design process itself will be more fun.
And don't forget about the unpredictable lessons learned from mistakes. :)
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