hi,
in the current adbusters, there's a kind of article about a manifesto for
designers...
below, is an original manifesto that was done by a bunch of designers in
1964 - but
visit the adbusters site for more ...
http://www.adbusters.org/
adios, sam.
We, the undersigned, are graphic designers, photographers and students
who have been brought up in a world in which the techniques and
apparatus of advertising have persistently been presented to us as the
most lucrative, effective and desirable means of using our talents. We
have been bombarded with publications devoted to this belief,
applauding the work of those who have flogged their
skill and
imagination to sell such things as: Cat food, stomach
powders,
detergent, hair restorer, striped toothpaste,
aftershave lotion,
beforeshave lotion, slimming diets, fattening diets,
deodorants, fizzy
water, cigarettes, roll-ons, pull-ons, and slip-ons.
By far the greatest
time and effort of those working in the advertising
industry are wasted
on these trivial purposes, which contribute little or
nothing to our national
prosperity.
In common with an increasing number of the general
public, we have
reached a saturation point at which the high pitched
stream of consumer
selling is no more than sheer noise. We think that
there are other things
more worth using our skill and experience on. There
are signs for streets
and buildings, books and periodicals, catalogues,
instructional manuals,
industrial photography, educational aids, films,
television features,
scientific and industrial publications and all the
other media through
which we promote our trade, our education, our culture
and our greater
awareness of the world.
We do not advocate the abolition of high pressure
consumer advertising:
this is not feasible. Nor do we want to take any of
the fun out of life. But
we are proposing a reversal of priorities in favour of
the more useful and
lasting forms of communication. We hope that our
society will tire of
gimmick merchants, status salesmen and hidden
persuaders, and that the
prior call on our skills will be for worthwhile
purposes. With this in mind,
we propose to share our experience and opinions, and
to make them
available to colleagues, students and others who may
be interested.
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hothouse: media arts discussion and action at the threshold of
technology and the 21st Century
MANIFESTO 2nd - 12th November 1999 Experimenta Media Arts
www.experimenta.org
