Design Manifesto
Design's Fundamental Challenge to Marketing Norms: Within a realm where marketing and design intricately intertwine, we, the proponents of design's fundamental nature, challenge the dominant belief that design is merely an accessory that follows marketing trends. Design and its process are complicated, and the design is not something that needs to be served; it's a separate way of thinking—a blank surface with lines of critical thought and a way for things to work. Just as the late-nineteenth-century Arts and Crafts Movement revolted against mass production, we, the designers of the modern century, reject the prevalent view that design is subject to fleeting marketing trends.
Crafting Purpose Beyond Trends: As marketing trends set the pace, we, the people in charge of design, choose to go in a different direction. We don't move quickly like people who are following the latest trend. Instead, we dance and plan our steps so that every stroke and detail serve a purpose that goes beyond the short-lived appeal of trends. In a world where marketing makes everyone feel rushed, we reject the idea that design is just an extra. It is a powerful instrument for critical thinking to be performed as well as a force that shapes our perceptions, relationships, and navigations through life and our current society. Design is not a nice-to-have; it's essential to a culture that values aesthetics and knowledge.
Design's Stability in the Face of Technological Changes: In the shadow of AI, rumors circulate that design is on its way out, which is considered an appropriation. Back to the Arts and Crafts Movement's skepticism, the Arts and Crafts Movement regarded technology as a possible ally in their artistic objectives, much as we might today see AI as a collaborative partner - a tool enriching our creative symphony. The Arts and Crafts Movement celebrated the individual craftsman, stressing the human touch, similar to our notion that the soul of a design extends beyond its AI-generated duplication. While AI can mimic form, it cannot reproduce the invisible elements of love and mindful human thinking poured into each design. Design is powerful because it is founded on critical thinking and the distinct human chemistry of creation. That being said, the identical version developed by AI may be duplicated shortly. However, the passion and care that go into a design are elements no AI can replicate.
Advocating Change I advocate of change in the middle of marketing surges and the development of AI-generated content, echoes the sentiments of 1960s counterculture groups. I call for an adjustment of design aims in the same way that these movements sought a paradigm shift in social ideals. Environmental changes, social unrest, and cultural shifts call out to us, and we answer with our collection of creative problem-solving skills. Our plan shows a journey away from the narrow view of market-driven communication, with its woven fabric of objectives turned upside down. There should be more than just product promotion in the design, and there should be deep and open ways for people to communicate. The discussion needs to be broad, and it should challenge the dominance of consumerism through the many different points of view expressed in the visual language of design.
In a world where market forces promote uniformity, we remain firm: design is not a product, but a lighthouse of real change and a call to critical thought in a world full of the obvious.
