ART 448 / Week 1

24 thoughts on “ART 448 / Week 1”

1. The first category that piqued my interest was the Designer as Brander, this topic was particularly interesting to me because he discussed how easy it was for a designer to stick a brand name on an item and drastically increase the price. I have noticed this a lot recently especially with clothing. If you go shopping in a store like Dick’s Sporting Goods, there can be simple jackets made of flannel that are close to $200 which is crazy to me. The designers role in the category of branding is interesting because the more reputable the brand is, the more expensive the item will be even if it is of the same quality as a jacket from walmart.

   Another category I found particularly interesting was Designer as an Activist, where Pater discusses the differences in social/economic classes and financial struggles of the lower class along with the climate crisis. Climate issues have always been important to me especially since we are not meant to be polluting the planet we live on as much and there is really nothing that individuals can do to stop it. One role he discusses that designers play is in creating greenwashing advertisements. A lot of companies such as Shell Oil will try to greenwash/”cause-wash” their advertisements to make individuals think that they care about certain causes and give them business when in reality it is just a ploy to make more money.

   An aspect of this talk that surprised me was that designers are part of the gentrification process, I always knew that there were people who did participate in gentrification but I had never thought of designers as part of that. It is interesting to think that people voluntarily assist in projects for gentrification and uprooting families from an area they have been in for as long as they can remember. I wish there were more designers who would stand up to companies and people who want to gentrify areas.

   1. I agree strongly with your argument here Aniston! I never considered artists or designers to have as big of a part of the capitalistic, gentrified aspects of society. Greenwashing is a huge issue in nearly all advertisement and commercial products we see day to day, as business try to fool us into buying their goods due to their “eco-friendly” brand. I find it concerning that designers choose to, if not are forced to fall in line with these efforts for financial gain.

   2. Hello Aniston!

      I thought the Designer as Brander was also intriguing because many items are priced purely off their brand. It is crazy how each store brand could increase prices all around the market. Even though Walmart could have the same quality as Dicks Sporting Goods, it’s all about the brand. I agree that climate change is significant and should be considered more. It sucks what people do to just make money. I enjoyed reading your post! Thank you.

      -Hannah B

   3. from Clint Bradshaw:
      Hi Aniston,
      I also thought the Designer as Brander category was super interesting. It’s crazy how much a name can add to the price of something, even if the quality is the same. I liked your example about jackets, it really makes the whole idea easy to understand

2. Pater describes designers as workers, as they are the core of commercialism, capitalism, and other socioeconomic factors. He names them “economic actors” as an overwhelming amount of design work opportunities are strictly based upon commercial demand of corporations. Pater describes that success can be found in the design field, as it grows with time; however, there are drawbacks. Due to the continuous development of modern technology and the higher accessibility to it at all times, designers often find themselves “never going fast enough” to keep up with the push for production. Additionally, Pater describes designers as scribes, as the basis of writing involves the need for visual organizations and communication. Designers use their attention to structure, composition, symbolism, and understanding of visual communication to create records, documents, and other ways of holding important information. The better the design work, the more trust is put into the information.

   I am surprised and intrigued at how in-depth Pater went in the economic context of design. Usually when designers and artists think of finances, it’s usually in a personal context, strategizing how to make enough money. I had never considered how design work could be the backbone of industry and economics. He provides numerous historical examples to show the consistent importance of design. Pater exaggerates the idea of designers working towards the future, and I think that is an important thought. In nearly any design field, technology has a profound influence on what can be produced, so keeping an eye to the future is key to success in design.

   1. Hi Kayla!
      This video also opened my eyes to how influential design is throughout the industry. I agree that in order to be a successful designer, you have to take into account would this design be just as effective in the future due to the rapid change of technology.

   2. Hey Kayla!! When talking about the categories I like how you pointed out specific ideas that Peter said, it gives more information on specifics rather than overviewing everything. Also, I like how you pointed out the economic side and finances that interested you. Like said, most people only think of how to make money since it is so important.

3. The two categories that I found interesting after listening to Pater talk about his chapters on designers were “The Designer as Futurist,” because this is about things that haven’t happened yet but could. The mind is ahead of time, and creativity can flourish, which interests me. I thought it was interesting how Pater talked about major companies making big deals about their companies through marketing and branding but not realizing their current relationship with climate change and what crises occur worldwide through entertainment like movies, etc, advertising natural disasters that could happen in the future. These movies are related to being anti-capitalistic. The last chapter, “The Designer As Activist,” also stuck out because of the ethics involved. He involves facts like “2,000 billionaires have more wealth than 60% of the world population combined.” Talking about ethics related to how people are selfish and greedy and so many go hungry when billionaires swim in their wealth. When it comes to graphic design and making digital things, Pater makes a point about a statistic saying 40% of the world has internet and the rest do not. I never knew this, and sadly, some people are disadvantaged. Designers are making apps that could save people but don’t have access to them.

   Something that I found surprising after listening to Pater’s talk about his chapters was the moment he started with “The Designer As a Scribe.” I learned that financial notations about the stock market and when it came to sales of homes, etc, could be turned into typography and art. Just seeing numbers is dehumanizing, and seeing the actual families with the prices makes it more real. It was intriguing to learn this history and facts about something you could see daily in a newspaper publicly and never realize it could be a way of art. And that the way they aligned the information was considered to be worked on by a designer. I enjoyed how he related design to global climate, political and justice issues, and crises. Fascinating discussion.

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   Link to OneDrive Week 1:
   https://uncg-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/r/personal/r_riley_uncg_edu/Documents/_Rachele%20Riley/teaching/S25/ART%20448/Hannah%20Belk/Week%201?csf=1&web=1&e=UtbgFT

   1. Hi Hannah!
      I agree, something about seeing the numbers of families vs. the prices feels so dehumanizing. I also really loved the connection between design and climate/political issues, its extremely eye opening.

4. 1.

   Category 1: Brander

   Pater talks about the historical and contemporary responsibilities of designers in creating brand identities. He highlights how branding extends beyond mere logos to encompass the values and narratives that influence consumer behavior. By crafting these identities, designers play a pivotal role in shaping perceptions and driving consumption, thereby reinforcing capitalist dynamics.

   Category 2: Worker

   This category looks at the position of designers within the labor market. Pater discusses the challenges faced by designers, including job insecurity, the gig economy, and the often exploitative nature of creative industries. He emphasizes the need for designers to recognize their labor’s value and to advocate for fair working conditions, suggesting that a collective awareness can lead to more equitable practices within the field.

   2. I found his analysis of the “I <3 NY” logo to be really interesting. Pater illustrated how this seemingly simple and positive design was used to mask underlying issues such as gentrification and the reduction of social services. It shows the impact that design can have on societal structures, often in ways that aren’t necessarily apparent.

   1. Hello Ryan!

      I agree that design can influence consumers’ views and what they purchase. I also agree that these capitalistic dynamics can impact the design community and consumers’ choices of brands. I like that you chose the worker one because most in our class did not. I also liked his analysis of the “I <3 NY" logo. It was truly inspiring! Thank you, and I enjoyed your post.

      -Hannah B

   2. from Clint Bradshaw:
      Hi Ryan!
      I really liked how you explained the Designer as Worker category. Never thought much about how designers’ labor is part of larger systems like the gig economy. It’s so true that recognizing their value can lead to much more fair conditions.

5. The first category that I found interesting is “The Designer as a Brander”. The way Pater describes this category as something that is familiar within the designer community. A common form of work that see in this chapter is UX design for online platforms. Today, branding has taken over the role of the designers and has become a world of its own. When it comes to supermarkets, designer are in charge of creating products even if they compete with similar products. Branding has lost its special quality of functionality and maintaining a relationship with the maker. The designer is also in charge of adding value to the product, depending on the quality of the brand design. The next category that intrigued me is “The Designer as Activist”. Pater defines this an anti-capitalist design that challenges the relationship between capitalism and art. He also describes it as a moral imperative to change for an ethical future. This chapter was essentially Pater’s reason for writing this book. He goes into detail about how design/advertising is used to make companies appear more diverse without actually doing anything to implement change. He warns us against this design tactic, because it’s actually quite dangerous, especially for those who are not knowledgeable about this.

   An aspect of this talk that surprised me was that today, supermarkets sell only 2% of regional products and that a lot of bigger supermarkets are owned by other companies that dominate internationally. This fact reminded me of a video that I seen, discussing the difference between American Target and Australian Target. After doing some research, I discovered that Australian Targets are owned by a completely different company, which results in their stores appearing totally different than what we’re used to. Another surprising fact to me was the origin of the word branding. I learned back in high school about the dehumanizing process of branding slaves, but I never recognized the connection between the design definition and the historical meaning. An eye opening fact that Pater discussed is that about 688 million people go hungry on a regular basis. I’ve always educated myself about world hunger, but something about seeing the amount in a physical number, really puts it into perspective how privileged you are and makes you want to actually do something about it to push for change.

   1. Hi Danielle,
      I agree with the point you made about seeing a physical number putting things in perspective. It’s honestly kind of scary how much worse some issues are than most of us would think.

   2. Hi Danielle! I also chose those two categories to talk about since I understood them the most. I like how when you talked about the supermarkets you included something you reached and learned which was about the different targets and the differences between the two. It’s neat that you found that information and could connect it to this.

6. https://uncg-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/r_riley_uncg_edu/ETpVYzrEZ7BHoCQhWLrF_8MBuOhIXU4_kdGByXtcbjBSQw?e=iHmTpt

7. Part One
   1. I was unsure of which sections of the video was categories or chapters but since YouTube breaks the segments and said these areas were chapters I guess I will go on that. One chapter that I found interesting was The Designer as Activist. In this he points out that there are many different perspectives and not one is all correct. So a potential in this category is to find something that is possible in the guidelines of design and find something important for this area but it doesn’t have to apply to everyone all over.
   Another chapter I was interested in was The Designer as Brander. The main point is how the objects that graphic designers create underpin economic systems and how they are used in capitalism and function. The Designer in this aspect has to pay attention to their design choices such as the thought of abundance of choice and how important branding is but instead lead away from the brand where it can upsell the prices just for example water and focus not on the money making aspect.
   2. The main idea behind what he is saying is that instead, designers should be a positive change in the media or culture to align their work with ethical and sustainable values. He kept talking about examples of how certain design practices could help in these negative areas. I was mildly surprised how connected those could be. When you think about how Design choices in brands or advertising can impact on consumerism and how that may affect people, it’s something you don’t think about a lot as an outside perspective but understandable why you need to be conscious of this as a designer.

   Part 2
   https://peoplesgdarchive.org/item/7975/the-miller-blues-band
   This is a poster designed by Victor Moscoso made in 1967. Band Poster made from Lithograph. I really like the lines designed around the woman. The color choice is also nice with the colors working well together.

   1. Hi Skye! I think I had the same categories for my favorites as you did, especially thinking about the Designer as a Brander. It is so interesting to think about how designers rely on branding in their products, especially higher end brands such as Gucci or Coach. A lot of products for designer companies/brands will have the name of the brand plastered all over it so that other people know that the wearer/buyer has a fancy brand.

8. Two categories that I found interesting from Ruben Pater’s video was the designer as worker and the designer as a activist. For the designer as worker, Ruben Pater explains how the designer themselves are economic actors because they play multiple roles; these roles include bosses, interns, teachers, etc. Ruben Pater also explains that back in the beginnings of graphic design it was primarily done by the working class. When Ruben Pater starts talking about the designer as a activist, he talks about the many real-world problems that are faced; problems such as poverty, hunger, homelessness and more. Some designers know of these struggles and try to create art that brings awareness of these problems and tries to spread the word to stop it from happening. One aspect of this talk that Ruben Pater does that intrigued me was tying graphic design into the concept of capitalism. He explains that aspects like advertising makes a consumer more persuaded to buy products and make them seem more sought after. It is an aspect of the art world that I feel does not get brought up enough or not as many people realize that all the promotions and ads are all thanks to someone who had an artistic vision to make them.

   1. Great points made here Anthony! I agree that artists and designers have a power that not many others have to bring awareness and change to society. It is hard to avoid capitalism in the modern day, especially due to the economic state of the world and how media portrays it. I think that Pater did a great job contextualizing the role of the designer throughout history, and how it helps us understand the role designers have today.

   2. Hi Anthony, I agree with all of the statements you are making and also found it interesting when Pater talks about designers as activists. A lot of designers and artists do make art about the real world problems that people face and they are often some of the most impactful works of art. Bringing awareness to issues such as poverty and homelessness is something that should be done more especially in the United States since the prices of living are just going up and the wages people are getting paid are staying the same.

9. Thank you everyone for your discussion comments.

10. The first category that was interesting was….

    “The Designer as Scribe”

    In the beginning, he shows a piece, known as the “Oldest found Written Document”. Which I have never seen before. I would not have ever known that it was a form of written text. At first glance, I would have assumed it was some kind of abstract art. But Peter was right to mention that it was a skill in order to create this. Who else would have thought to create a whole language and decide to document it? It also showed signs of accounting. Showing how they document in the pass as well. “First kind of part about the role of the designer is really how designers create documents that put trust in the economic system.”

    Then we were later shown a piece in 1666, showing the first European banknote, and we know it was a skilled graphic designer using the print press. Further expanding how people trusted each other with the economic system.

    “Silicon Valley Narrative”

    The second category that he spoke about was how the overworking that having social media may create due to the consent feeling that you can keep doing work and keep telling yourself that you NEED to push yourself more in order to succeed.

    Pointing out that CEOs are getting paid way more compared to everyday jobs where they are working overtime and still barely getting compensated is an issue. (Including Designers).
    He was basically saying to work less (if you have that privilege) to enjoy your life and family.

    Pater stated

    “….become kind of world on its own where it actually resembles very little relation to to even even to production you know….for example supermarkets only sell two percent regional projects products i found it like a very very startling statistic and you know this is kind of the promise of capitalism that we have all this his this abundance of choice but in in fact when you look at the prices at the supermarket they’re actually owned by a handful of companies that dominate the international food market but also have a really firm grip on agriculture and on supermarkets and of course they they usually also even create products that that compete within the same product group myself i used to work at for example a factory that creates plastic bottles for detergent and all the plastic bottles were the same all the detergent was the same but then on the on the final step in the production different labels would be slapped on the on the bottles you know that you know it was the same detergent but to to create different brands that could communicate with one another or or go to different supermarkets….”

    So I feel like Pater’s definition of designers is that they are adaptable, or able to make nothing to something. Designers pay special attention to detail, and think how the consumer would view this product. Like how he used the example with the detergent bottles, you have to make a product become a world of its own. To basically make it more than it is actually worth, giving it more value than it is actually worth.

    He defines the role vital to society, keeping an orderly fashion to everything by documenting important things like the first document and the first European banknote. Both were historically important things that had a huge impact on the future. Designers have done a lot for society.
    I appreciate how he took the time to explain how design has been here since the beginning of time. Near the end he really explains how diverse design is, how important it is to be open minded with design and not letting big corporations COMPLETELY decide what design “should” look like. But also keep in mind the history of design it took to get to where we are now.

    People’s Graphic Design Archive:

    100th Anniversary Kokura Technical High School | People’s Graphic Design Archive

    This piece was created for a highschool. Not much detail was given about the piece.
    When I was scrolling and I saw these pieces I thought it was very captivating. I have always been in love with collage art and this was a piece that represented great composition and use of color. I like art that shows movement using elements from found media. I also like pieces that include typography as well. I like how it is similar to “printmaking” art as well.

11. from Clint Bradshaw:
    Two categories from Ruben Pater’s talk that really stood out to me were “The Designer as Brander” and “The Designer as Activist.” In the Brander category, Pater talks about how designers can make something seem way more valuable just by giving it a big-name brand. For example, he mentioned how two jackets with the same quality could cost totally different prices if one has a famous brand name. It really made me think about how much we’re actually paying for the brand instead of the product itself. The activist category caught my attention too because it shows how designers have the power to shine a light on big issues like climate change and poverty. Pater mentioned something called “greenwashing”, where companies act like they care about the environment to trick people into thinking they’re ecofriendly. It made me realize how important it is for designers to use their skills in ways that are honest and ethical.

    One part of the talk that really surprised me was when Pater explained how designers play a role in gentrification. I’d never thought about how design projects can actually force people out of their neighborhoods…. but it makes sense now. Another thing that shocked me was learning that a lot of the products in supermarkets are controlled by just a few huge companies. It’s crazy how much power design has to influence so many parts of our lives.

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