Calling All Critical Voices…
By megan dealSeptember 27th, 2007
by: Megan Deal
At some point during our elementary years, between sessions of cursive writing, and bouts of long division, we learned the proper way to structure a sentence. In the following years, we practiced and practiced, until our poor little minds were unconsciously identifying adjectives and composing compound sentences. Then, in our high school careers we were taught the best way to structure sentences into paragraphs, and then subsequently paragraphs into essays. We learned various rhetorical and stylistic devices that aided us in this process, until we were able to develop clear ideas into syntagmatically coherent sentences. Again, we practiced. Practice perfected.
It would seem, that at some point between the years of lunchtime recess and student loans, we’ve fallen out of practice. Our focus has shifted from basic English to HTML, we pay more attention to the space in between words then the actual words themselves, and our explanations and solutions to every problem that we encounter have become widely image driven. I don’t present this favor of image over words to be a negative convention by any means. After all, it is only expected that we as design students should learn how to effectively communicate through visuals. While there’s no denying the importance of visual narrative in our multi-media society, I would suggest that we be cautious in communicating solely through image, and recognize the expressive quality that words still possess. If we are to better understand graphic design, we must become active participants in more ways then just producing visual “things” to bombard our already visually cluttered world. It is necessary to consider the role of critical writing in our design development process, and realize it’s significant function, as a valuable outlet for posing questions to ourselves and to others. If a new breed of design writing is to form, it must start with students, and we, being these students, must respond to this outcry for new voices by incorporating critical writing into our everyday design practice.
WHY the lack of new voices?
We as students, are entering the design field at a time when graphic design criticism is still a relatively young discipline.1 With only a handful of practitioners supplying the main thread of discourse, the lack of new critical voice is becoming increasingly apparent. Still, several existing texts seem only capable of finding fault in this issue, failing to offer any real reasoning as to why new voices in the discourse are not emerging. Further, the existing criticism lacks any valuable advice for young writers on how to incorporate thoughtful design writing into our expanding practices.
In Looking Closer 5, the editors claim that the emergence of new writers is dependent upon the “curricula provided in our schools and universites,” as these institutions continue to encourage “critical modes of discourse.” 2 This assertion presents an immense amount of responsibility towards our design education programs, which in many cases, seem to already be cramming as much as possible into a four year curriculum. For many students, this span of time is acceptable for developing formal skills but simply not enough time to establish a critical practice. With each individual progressing at a different rate and possessing various degrees of capability, it would seem quite onerous to include this advanced level of education into an undergraduate program of study.
On the other hand, Ellen Lupton, who directs the Graphic Design Graduate Program at MICA, encourages casual writing as a “tool,” much like sketching, diagraming, and any other form of conceptulization.3 In her design program, Lupton encourages critical wrting but does not force the exercise upon students. It becomes the student’s choice, based upon their individual level of interest, as to how involved with writing they become. Though I would imagine that many students at the graduate level would be more apt to develop a critical writing practice, I’m inclined to believe that if such an activity is deemed “extra-curricular,” left at the student’s own will, time simply won’t allow for sufficient practice, regardless of interest.
If it is the responsibility of the institution to force it’s students into critical practice, yet design discourse stills lacks a new class of voices, it seems appropriate to place the blame on design education. However, if it is up to the student’s themselves whether or not they develop a critical voice, then perhaps we as students are simply to lazy or just plain illiterate to take on a critical standpoint. The topic is endlessly debated and yet new voices still go unheard.
I would suggest that design educators must ENCOURAGE the use of writing as a means of conceptual and expressive development but ultimately the responsibility of developing a crtical voice, lies within the design student herself.4
So then…what’s the hold up?
If it is up to the student to develop a critical perspective, and to write in a way so as to shed light on history, theory and practice, what then is suppressing our efforts? I’d suggest that a portion of our hesitence is due in part to the sustained thinking that writing of this kind requires. The writer is forced to sort through their own internal collection of knowledge and experience in order to thoroughly convey an idea. But lets face it – most of us as students, are young and dumb and lack the life experiences and comprehension that can only develop with time.
I presume, however, that the main cause of disinterest towards writing is that student’s are simply out of practice, and therefore fear failure. It is crucial to note that “failed” exercises are often worth as much as their successful counterparts, as they allow the individual to reassess the path of research, leading one to discover the point at which a wrong turn was made. It is unnecessary to philosophically explain the nature of design on our first attempts. (All will come with practice) First, focus must be directed towards thouroughly expressing our ideas through words. Only with time and practice will our formal skills develop. Writing is a process of “trial and error and continuous negotiation,” that can only be properly explored by doing it yourself. 5
We, as students, have been given the responsibility to continue the discourse on design. We must approach writing from the same angle that we approach all of our design problems: adapting our creative process and allowing it to guide our modes of exploration. If we allow ourselves to dabble with words with the same zest we employ towards image, we can shift the cycle of design writers, and uphold our responsibility to the practice.
1. Poyner, Rick. “The Time for Being Against.” Looking Closer Four: Critical Writings on Graphic Design. Ed. Bierut, Drenttel, Heller. New York: Allworth Press, 2002. 122.
2. Bierut, Michael, and William Drenttel, and Steven Heller. Foreword. Looking Closer Five: Critical Writings on Graphic Design. New York: Allworth Press, 2006. vii-viii.
3. Lupton, Ellen. “Designer as Producer.” From “The Education of a Graphic Designer.” Ed. Steven Heller. New York: Allworth Press, 1998. 159-162. (Accessed 30 August 2007),
4. Wild, Lorraine. “That was Then, and This is Now: But What is Next?.” Looking Closer Four: Critical Writings on Graphic Design. Ed. Bierut, Drenttel, Heller. New York: Allworth Press, 2002. 147.
5. Poyner, Rick. “The Time for Being Against.” Looking Closer Four: Critical Writings on Graphic Design. Ed. Bierut, Drenttel, Heller. New York: Allworth Press, 2002. 127.
First, let me propose a question: When is the last time that you actually wrote critically about your design (or any for that matter – and No, I don’t mean you specifically Ms. Deal)? And to follow that question up: When is the last time beyond a liberal arts course that you wrote at all? My guess would be that even though we as students don’t write formally on a consistent basis; we are still writing all the time. ‘How can that be?’, you may ask. The answer is simple; we as students communicate on a consistent basis – via email, instant message, even this blog. I think you have made quite an oversight in presuming that the design student: A) doesn’t write nearly as much as they should, and B) doesn’t ‘dabble with words with the same zest we employ towards images’. In fact, I think rather the opposite.
Before I retort, I must express that not all design students (hell, students in general) like to write formally. There are many other methods of expression that the writer may employ – creative writing, personal diaries, instant messaging, emails, blogging – that more often than not take a sidestep to the formalities of writing. I can personally attest that M.L.A. format is not overly engaging to use and doing the research, annotation and proper referencing can be quite time consuming – that’s not to say that I can’t do it (and I can when required) but that it disinterests me to do so. I would rather spend my time engaging in a loose instant messaging exchange or writing an email (which, if you consider the email in a business setting, can be quite formal). I also personally enjoy creative writing; short stories, micro-fiction, extended fiction, etc. To me, there is infinitely more opportunity with expression through words within these mediums than your tradition formal practices.
Now back to point B. We as designers are constantly choosing words to express concepts that we imbue our images with. These concepts, believe it or not, usually only begin as a single word – via discovery through mind-maps or other research – and manifest themselves as images later on. To say that we dabble with these words without zest is quite the presumption. These words, sorry, these concepts are usually so important to our design that we typically attack them with the same fervor that we would our images; we want to know everything about that word, or concept. The etymology, academic definitions, cultural connotations and denotations all play a significant role in the concepts we choose to define and employ our images with. To say that the designer does not approach these words and concepts critically is to undercut our abilities as designers.
In closing, I don’t believe that there is a lack of critical writing among students of design. Perhaps there is a lack of formal writing – but critical writing? No, I don’t believe that. I believe we are as critical of the words we choose for concepts as the images that come out of those concepts. Besides, lets face the most basic fact that I think you’ve overlooked (and now I’m going to presume much here): We didn’t come to CCS (or any art school for that matter) to worry about our formal writing abilities, we came here to enhance our creative abilities.
There are a couple good points in your argument. Like i said before one of the strongest concepts was
“Our focus has shifted from basic English to HTML, we pay more attention to the space in between words then the actual words themselves, and our explanations and solutions to every problem that we encounter have become widely image driven.”
I ask is that a bad thing. I know that I communicate better through visuals than with written word. If asked i can talk about my work but writing about it is much more difficult, not because I don’t know how but because I think it becomes redundant. A good design should stand for itself.
Feel free to disagree
There is no question that writing of any kind is a valuable practice, especially for the design student. Creative writing, be it short stories, poetry, or fairy tales provides an alternative outlet for expressing ideas, and helps one develop an awareness of narrative structure. Creative writing, however useful to the design student’s development, should not be confused with critical writing.
To write critically is to examine “exterior social and historical phenomena” and direct an interpretation towards a “specific audience.”(1) Alice Tremlow, chair of SVA’s new MFA Design Criticism Department, states that, “Design criticism helps us to understand the role of design in contemporary life,” and “requires knowledge of history, philosopohy, politics, economics, ethics, and ecology.” It becomes the critics role to respond to an idea or object by creating something new, that is itself open to reinterpretation.
See the following link for Rick Poynor’s take on the purpose of critics:
http://www.designobserver.com/archives/000137.html
Critical writing needn’t be dissertational, but it does need to be clear and thoughtful, arranged in a coherent way that can be understood by the reader. the lngage of txt mssgng will not sfice.
My point is simply this: Critical writing on design is necessary if we are to understand where design has been and where it’s going next. When the Poynors, Wilds, Bieruts, and Helfands retire, someone will need to rise to the challenge and fill the vacant seats that these great thinkers leave behind. As students of design, we are the obvious candidates and should recognize the responsibility that we’ve been given. By “calling all critical voices,” I am merely trying to emphasize the value of participating in the design discourse. Not everyone will jump at this compelling opportunity, but we as students must be aware that the opportunity IS there, clearly presenting itself, awaiting that moment for new voices to seize and accept.
1. Rock, Michael. The Designer as Author. Eye Magazine: Issue 65. (Accessed 7 Sep. 2007), http://www.eyemagazine.com
I am going to keep this light. Here it goes…
I can think. I can process. I can wait. I can go. I can stay. I can write. I can talk. I can speak. I can do a lot of things. Design is about the things we CAN do. Design can be anything and everything. From formally writing to flat out thinking. If you want to explore something, you won’t know until YOU do. Design is about the CANS. So do what you CAN and what you enjoy.
I can dig it, Megan.
Your point of students being afraid is completely valid, as I get nervous posting my thoughts in this forum for fear of the rolling eyes of my peers.
In response to dkapa:
I completely agree. I write critically about design on a nightly basis as I chat with fellow students about our projects and design in general. Although I understand where you are coming from with your argument, Megan, I think that informal dialog is not only much easier for students to swallow, but is also much more useful for digging in to a much more raw design conversation, as I find many of the pre-calculated responses on this blog unnecessarily lengthy to get the point across.
I agree with Daryl. I think all design students should be able to clearly articulate their thoughts in writing. I also think it’s nice to get a sense of personality in a written response. Tone can often help convey someone’s ideas. It seems like students often have the tendency to dilute their ‘voice’ in attempts to write formally, which i think can often make the reader’s experience more boring and less informative.
I agree completely with the idea of tone helping to convey a persons message. I personally have a hard time reading long essays, not because I dont agree with what is said or because it doesn’t interest me, I just find that reading something that is so deeply thought out starts to seem far too much like an explanation rather than that initial reaction full of your own voice that you get from someone who speaks on the spot. I guess I just like to see what peoples gut reactions are more than what they spent time thinking about. There are exceptions to this, writers that have a unique style of writing so that their personality shows through can be really interesting but some people just all sound the same.
My ex-roomate (and friend) began at CCS as a Graphic Design major, but switched to Advertising after only 2 semesters. When I asked her why, she responded, “Because I’m sick of making things pretty just for the sake of them looking good. Advertising actually has conceptualization and content and meaning, Graphic Design just making pretty things on a page. There’s never a reason why.”
Unlike most of my collegues I’m sure, I did not explode into a tirade upon hearing her answer. Instead I said nothing, but something clicked in my brain. I realized that we as designers must PROVE to our audience that there is a meaning and a purpose for every decision made in our work. That our “reason why” needs to be pushed forward through all of the visual “prettiness,” and our critical decisions need to come through loud and clear.
I can see the point that we as design students do not write critically as often as they should. I think it would help designers formulate their thoughts and criticisms better if we did write. But to say that we don’t write at all is a bit ridiculous. It may not be full length essays on the duality of man but writing is an integral part of our day. Whether it be IM, email, mind mapping, or even blogs, we write quite often.
There are plenty of things we as designers SHOULD be doing, but most of them simply don’t exist in our curriculum. While I do agree that critical writing is important, I know I don’t have the time to pursue that fully, and if I did, I think it would exist pretty far down the priority list. I do feel it is extremely important to think critically and be critical overall in the design field, but to pursue the formal aspects of writing critically… i don’t know. We should already have some sense when it comes to that anyway, right? I do agree Megan that there should be more emphasis plaed on it and it would be exremely helpful, but it is only one aspect in the realm of thinking critically and observing design in general.
Maybe it’s just me but i can’t help but compare this to film makers and film critics, or artists and art critics. It’s one thing to be critical of art and be an artist but to pursue the formal aspects of both? and pursue them both at the same time? I feel I would only become a writer of film criticism if I was not a film maker or gave up on making them.
I have realized that it is easier to articulate thoughts through informal methods, primarly ichat. Sometimes when we have to write something, we feel that the idea them becomes final. With social conversation, we are able to expand and filter out ideas, as writing typically cannot without an increased amount of confusion. Also, when formally writing, we get so caught up in the vernacular and technicalities of the piece that we cannot get the idea across clearly. But, when we present ideas verbally and casually in instant messanger convos, we can make sense of things because our thoughts can have their flaws.
It seems that as designers, we need to consider the value of formal and informal conversation. Some of the best ideas or catch phrases can come from mispronounced words.