Preface
First Things First. Or Not?
First Things First. Or Not?
Candice Ng, 2018
"An intellectual/artist is neither a pacifier nor a consensus builder but someone whose whole being is staked on a critical sense—a sense of unwillingness to accept easy formulas or ready made cliches or the smooth ever so accommodating confirmations of what the powerful or convention have to say and what they do.”
- Edward Said (italics mine)
The First Things First Manifesto written and published by Ken Garland in 1964 is something that every graphic designer would encounter—in one way or another—through their academic and/or professional lifetime. It's inquiry - questioning the role of design in today's consumeristic world - presents itself as a continuous negotiation that persists in everyday society.
What does it mean to be a designer today? Does creating designs for dog biscuits or perfumes an act of selling one's soul? What and how do we navigate design as a bread and butter profession while considering it's socio-political impact? The first reader of Informal Reading peers into these questions by re-looking at the First Things First Manifesto (1964 & 2000) to consider its discussions and counterpoints.
The practice of creative endeavours often seem to point towards an ideal, a questioning of norms, and possibly even the subversion of power. While the First Things First manifesto and its signatories do not shy from this—demonstrating a healthy criticality of reflection—it's radical call does not seem to answer the practical concerns that permeate the day-to-day challenges of survival and living as a designer today.
What insights can we gain from this manifesto and how can we generate knowledge that does not over-theorise? As a stepping stone, it's perhaps important to consider what Edward Said calls for a relentless pursuit of truth and to consider counterpoints—in order that we may establish a more informed perspective on what a designer can, should and ought to be. In this ever evolving discipline, there is still much to learn from these readings.
We invite you to join us.
The First Things First Manifesto written and published by Ken Garland in 1964 is something that every graphic designer would encounter—in one way or another—through their academic and/or professional lifetime. It's inquiry - questioning the role of design in today's consumeristic world - presents itself as a continuous negotiation that persists in everyday society.
What does it mean to be a designer today? Does creating designs for dog biscuits or perfumes an act of selling one's soul? What and how do we navigate design as a bread and butter profession while considering it's socio-political impact? The first reader of Informal Reading peers into these questions by re-looking at the First Things First Manifesto (1964 & 2000) to consider its discussions and counterpoints.
The practice of creative endeavours often seem to point towards an ideal, a questioning of norms, and possibly even the subversion of power. While the First Things First manifesto and its signatories do not shy from this—demonstrating a healthy criticality of reflection—it's radical call does not seem to answer the practical concerns that permeate the day-to-day challenges of survival and living as a designer today.
What insights can we gain from this manifesto and how can we generate knowledge that does not over-theorise? As a stepping stone, it's perhaps important to consider what Edward Said calls for a relentless pursuit of truth and to consider counterpoints—in order that we may establish a more informed perspective on what a designer can, should and ought to be. In this ever evolving discipline, there is still much to learn from these readings.
We invite you to join us.