OUGD601: Primary Research- Studios

From handing in my proposal for COP3 and receiving my results back from COP2 I decided the initial steps into researching for my dissertation would be to start with looking at information which is already out there- secondary information. My initial questions of inquiry are what is ethical design? why do designers want to produce ethical design? what makes something ethical?

So from having a read of some initial articles online I have found that the overall theme of my research is in a sense based mainly on opinions, it is a very open topic and there is no one way of saying something is or isn't ethical. It is a designers choice what projects they partake in. Some elements of design being ethical are the production methods for example the stock or inks that are used- are they sustainable and is that important for the project? or perhaps it is when you look at a business that their morals and ways of working don't align with your own as a designer. 

From this initial research I began to ask some designers and studios who openly portray themselves as ethically driven and concerned about the environment and its people. Through emailing them asking them questions I have gained a wide variety of opinions and feedback which is fantastic and extremely helpful for me to move forward with my research.

www.designedbygoodpeople.com

Is a design studio in London run by Lee and Ariana who have been working together since 1992. Previously they have worked for a range of brands including:

'THE NATIONAL TRUST, FAIRTRADE ,WAITROSE, LOSELEY, MARKS & SPENCER, TESCO, NATWEST, UNILEVER, AXA, SAINBURY’S, WHITTARDS OF CHELSEA, TRAVELEX, DIAGGIO, SKYPE, J&B, COCA COLA, ASDA,THE UK GOVERNMENT, BERRY BROTHERS & RUDD, SACLA, KNOCANDO, BIRDS EYE, WALLS, FOCUS DIY, SEICOMART, LIBERATION CIC, DREAMS, SAN PELLEGRINO, THE REFINERY, SEAT AND FRESH & EASY.'

They set up designed by good people in 2010 with ambitions:

 'to take control of who we did work for.'

'We believe in working WITH people who are passionate about and enjoy what they do. They are like us, they share our beliefs, we understand them. It’s easier to do work you understand. And you do better work when you believe in what you do.'

Email I sent to them: Tuesday 23rd June 2015

"Hello, 

I'm Melissa and I am a student studying a graphic design degree at Leeds College Of Art. I'm currently researching for my dissertation and wondered if you could offer some advice or opinions. 

Why do you think designers are important for charities? 

What impact do you think graphic design has on charities? does it make them more successful? 

Why do you think it is important designers are ethical?

Thank you very much for your time! 

I love the work you produce and have thoroughly enjoyed looking at some of your projects! 

Have a lovely day

Melissa Morris

LCA BAGD" 

I edited this email to be able to email each individual studio but overall asked the same questions.

Reply: 

Hi Melissa,

Thanks for getting in touch. Before I give you some answers would you let us know how you heard of us? It helps!

Why do you think designers are important for charities? Charities are brands. They need to communicate, they need to be seen, they need to compete for your money. They need to connect with their audience on an emotional level. 

Like anything you buy that you don't actually need, which is most of what we buy, consume or hoard, the decision is emotional. Tapping into the emotional need to have something is one of the most powerful tools known to man. It's encouraged people to go to war and kill other human beings, smoke toxic substances and choose different brands of that toxic substance which ail eventually kill them. Even when they know this thing will kill them, they still buy them.

Design, branding marketing and advertising are all interlinked. In the past they have been used to make us part with money we don't have, to buy thing we don't need, to make impressions that don't last to people we don't care about.

What if we could use these powerful tools to encourage people to be more ethical, more sustainable or help others?

That's why designers are important for charities, if they are good, if they understand why people make decisions.

Charities are in danger of alienating the people that fund them by mindless chugging, cold calling and general harassment. It turns people off.

Good designs turns people on.

What impact do you think graphic design has on charities? does it make them more successful? 

It depends. We have worked with a number of charities. We often don't publicise this work. It helps them be more visible, look and FEEL more professional so it is believable that it will administer it's funds in a way that will make a difference. Communication is just one aspect of a charity (or any brand). On it's own it wont do anything unless all the other aspects are in place. The best design and advertising will make a bad brand fail faster. The same goes for a charity. On it's own, design is worthless, because good design and branding is only as good as what it represents. A pretty computer that doesn't work isn't worth anything. Good design communicates what something is, it's values and what it wants to do.

Why do you think it is important designers are ethical?

If the designer believe that being ethical or more eco friendly is a good thing, if the designer has strong values, then absolutely they should work on more ethical projects for one simple reason:

You do better work when you believe in what you do.

We say this about ourselves and stand by this.

It's good to make a difference. 

If we did better work for ethical brands, they would be more successful. Its' often harder doing work for these brands because they often have too many people involved in the decision making process, but they are often run by people who believe in what they do. You tend to have a relationship with them, which means you work with them rather than for them. 

However, if a designer doesn't believe in any of the above, then there is no point in targeting working for ethical brands.

I know people who argue against things like Fairtrade or some charities, partly because they haven't seen the right communications, heard stories or have no emotional connection to the brands.

We can change this.

I hope that helps.

Good luck with the dissertation. I'd love to see it when it's done.

Do you want to interview a charity? We have two we can put you in touch with, both in Latin America and another one closer to home that empowers women that is working with a client of ours.

Good luck,

Regards

Lee

P.S. If you haven't heard of him, look up Simon Sinek. He's got a talk on our blog (Start With Why . Every designer should watch it (or read his book).

www.zerofee.org

'Zerofee is an ethical design agency — we create visual identityand design for print and digital media, but not for irresponsiblebrands or companies. Why Zerofee? Alongside commercial work, we constantly donate design to financially–challenged charities and good causes. We’ve worked with clients of all types and sizes, including Amnesty International, Arts Emergency, Dezeen, Fair Tax Mark, Global Witness, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Publish What You Pay, Reprieve, Stoke Newington Literary Festival, TRAID and many others. There’s more detail about our practice and principles below and you can follow@zerofee on Twitter, read our blog or check our news.'

Reply: Hi Melissa: Flattery gets you everywhere. My thoughts below, good luck with your dissertation.

(PB) For the same reason that they’re important to commercial entities / corporations – graphic designers’ work influences (positively and, potentially, negatively) the audience’s perception of the organisation and their ease of / joy of interaction with it. Charities, at least smaller ones, face an additional challenge in that they are need to attain similar standards of visual presentation and communication with less experience, less money and often without staff dedicated to communications / marketing

(PB) Partially answered above but, yes, it can make them more successful, but only in support of other successful, sensible strategies and content employed by the charity.

www.starvingforethics.com/main.html
As well as looking into studios I found a movement which is current (2012) and it is in fact quite similar to the first things first manifesto I have looked at previously as it is a movement which a number of designers have signed. 

I emailed him to ask about the project and also similar questions about charity which I asked studios too. His reply is below:

Hi Melissa,

Sure thing. Here are my answers (in bold):

Do you think designers are important for charities? 

What impact do you think graphic design has on charities? does it make them more successful? 

I think any organization will benefit from graphic design. Charities tend to have a stronger mission and message, which can make it easier for designers to craft a communication strategy for them.

Why do you think it's important that graphic designers are ethical?

Graphic designers play an important role in society as communicators between various entities and the public. Such influence can sometimes be used for irresponsible purposes as well (e.g. misrepresentation). Because of this, it's important that designers to define what ethics means to them in the context of design. You can find out more in my thesis: http://www.starvingforethics.com/introduction.html#point1

Cheers,

David

http://www.flyingkite.co.uk

Flying kite is run by a series of freelance designers but mainly by Jon Ireland, the business started in 2004 and is made up of an extensive amount of charity based briefs and projects. I asked him the same questions again as a studio to gain more feedback his reply is below:

Hi Melissa

In answer to your questions...

Direct marketing provides a very important role in charity fundraising and a large portion of those communications use direct mail. Designing for direct mail appeals is a very functional role - setting out forms, letters and envelopes - with the goal of making the communication clear, easy to respond and not too 'flashy'. The brand guidelines of the charity provide consistency throughout appeals and help the recipient of the mailing easily recognise the charity.

When working for charities I personally think costs should be kept to a minimum on design although there is a certain amount of professionalism required when working for national and international charities.

Hope these couple of thoughts help on your work. All the best with your future career.

Thanks

Jon

http://www.piersanddominic.com/#our-services 

'Piers & Dominic are an independent brand, graphic and web design agency.

We have been helping our clients engage their audiences by developing commercially sound, intelligently researched and targeted, ideas-led brand communications for over twenty years. During this time we have built a diverse portfolio from charity (third sector), healthcare (including NHS), public and private sector clients ranging from small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) to large organisations and corporates. We have two design studios – one in Highgate, London N6 and the other in Bradford on Avon near Bath.'

The work from this studio stood out in terms of aesthetic as well as being ethical too their work is sophisticated and colourful which makes heavy topics such as health easier to read and engage with as a piece of design. I emailed them similar questions to gain their feedback too see the response below:

Hi Melissa

Thanks for your kind words. In answer to your questions, see below:

On a grand scale they can help create a new brand, refresh a tired brand or move a brand on. They help a charity communicate to its current and potential supporter base. A constant issue for charities is how to engage a new audience without alienating an existing one. Many charities suffer from an ageing supporter base so appealing to a younger audience when your key supporters are retired is a common problem.

On a day-to-day basis, incumbent designers can help charities keep to the brand guidelines, help turn complex communication (eg. donation forms, Gift Aid forms) into easy-to-read and easy-use pieces and generally keep the output fresh and exciting, or at the very least, appear considered. 

They can be the conduit between the charity and more technical production areas such as print and programming. They can help charities on in-house technical issues such as correct file selection (we are constantly handed logos in .gif format for print).

Plus general advice and consultancy.

What impact do you think graphic design has on charities? does it make them more successful? 

It’s a crowded market. Thousands of charities chasing our hard-earned cash. They know we can only afford to give so much. So their visual communication and connection with us, as well as what they say, is important. 

It’s likely though that charities do better through what they raise money for and how much press they get talking about it. Cancer is, for want of a better phrase, fashionable. It touches so many lives. It scares us all and it makes a donation to Teenage Cancer Trust, Cancer Research UK and Macmillan so much easier because its real and tangible and most people have experienced it directly or indirectly. All three of those charities have contemporary-looking brands, true, but they didn’t start out that way. As a charity gets bigger and better known it needs its communication to be slicker and more locked down yet flexible. How do we look on TV or sound on radio for instance?

BUT, one of the biggest UK charities is the RSPCA and its sixties-looking lozenge logo is outdated and dull. The website has no sense of ‘brand’ just a logo. But people love animals, often more than other people.

Great Ormond St in many ways was one of the first ‘contemporary’ charities targeting a younger audience than more traditional charities. Its logo looks dated now but at the time (80s) it was pretty unique. But again, sick children - who wouldn’t give to a cause like that? I worked for the design consultancy that created it, The Fine White Line, a consultancy owned by one of the best ad agencies CDP. Slick design, high quality print, top photographers. Before that the maxim for charities was ‘look poor so people give more’.

Now you have to be more ’trust us to spend your money wisely’.

Then you have TV-based charities like Red Nose and Children in Need. They come into our homes (uninvited!) every year and raise in one night what it takes some charities years to do. How important is a designer when you have celebrities queueing up to, let’s be honest, further their careers under the guise of helping a charity in the process. Incidentally, it’s a scaled up copy of what Amnesty used to do in the 70s with The Secret Policeman’s Ball.

So, I think, well ahead of the graphic design comes the charity’s cause - is it relevant (cancer, dementia), photogenic (starving African children) or cute (dewy-eyed labradors)?

Reach - is what you have to say newsworthy. Will it be talked about in press and social media? Can you get on TV better still get a BBC sponsored show funded by the license payer?

Celebrity endorsement - a big celeb can get you noticed. It can backfire, think Rolf Harris and, of course, Jimmy Savile.

NB geography - some regional charities can do very well because they have a small but loyal local audience.

A good name plus slick presentation helps but you can’t beat being fashionable and talked about.

Hope these ramblings help

Cheers

OUGD601: Tutorial 3

The third tutorial I have struggled to meet the standard of having two chapters written however I have made progress in adding more secondary sources to my chapter discussing the ethical theories. From the feedback I have received at this tutorial it has allowed me to move forward with this chapter and include a further section on the categorical imperative (Kantian ethics). 

The structure has also been changed as we agreed in the tutorial having a large conclusion with links to design seemed separate. Instead I have woven in these comments and links to design throughout as part of the triangulation. These comments have been summarised at the end with a smaller conclusion which I believe works more efficiently as a first chapter. 

For the 7th/8th December I need to have a completed draft and therefore the main focus for my university studies at the moment is COP specifically my dissertation. 

I have also been asking studios their opinions on the first things first manifesto as a source of primary investigation this is incredibly important to gain a further understanding on whether these ethical theories are relevant in todays design practice. 

I have also learnt that this primary research can be put into the essay as an Appendix and therefore wouldn't be involved within the word count apart from any sections which are relevant and quoted. 

OUGD601: Replies in regards to: First Things First

From beginning to write my dissertation and complete research I have found that the first things first manifesto and the idea of the role of the designer within ethics is vitally important. After interviewing four design studios that focus on charitable work I wanted to ask them further questions about their thoughts on the first things first manifesto as it would be interesting to see whether they knew about it or what their opinion on it was. 

I attached a copy of the manifesto and you can find the responses below: 

This was the email I sent to each of them:

'Hello, I am part way through my dissertation for university and I am incredibly thankful for your answers. I was wondering if you have read or are aware of the First Things First Manifesto? I have attached a copy of it and I would love to hear your opinion on it! 

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks for your time,

Melissa Morris

LCA BAGD'

The responses can be seen below:

Flying Kite studio
http://www.flyingkite.co.uk

Hi Melissa

No I've never heard of that. Having read it I would not sign up to that manifesto on the 2 points.

1 - it vastly overvalues the status of a graphic designer

2 - I could never sign up to a manifesto that uses such an ugly font as a headline

Thanks

Jon

Zero fee
http://www.zerofee.org

Hi Melissa

I am aware and have read it and the 1999 / 2000 ‘reboot’ of it, along with other similar declarations since. 

I think it was and is a very inspiring call to action but, for the majority of designers, unrealistic or unheeded. For the those operating businesses (or other organisations) and implementing design, the same, but none of that diminishes it as a tool for stimulating interrogation of the impact of our work, good and bad.

Best

Paul Buck

Director, Zerofee

Designed by good people
http://www.designedbygoodpeople.com

Hi Melissa,

I wasn't aware of the First Things First manifesto.

My first thought was 'what is it?'. I had to read it a couple of times. I'm still not 100% sure. It spends more time saying mass consumerism is wrong rather than what is right. It doesn't really say what it's purpose is. Is it to be more ethical in the choice of client? Or to help students with shared knowledge about the creative industries? Or share opinion on the current state of consumerism with students?

Mass market has deep pockets. They will nearly always win the war. Most people are sheep, they follow, they are not the early adopters and there is simply too much money to be made within the machine. You can't fight big machines head on, you have to be clever, exploit a weakness or get inside it and change it from within.

Early adopters instigate change, Early majorities drive it, then everyone else follows. What we need to change things is to ensure the skills we have are used for a different purpose. Instead of manipulating and persuading people to do things that are bad for people and planet, we need to do the opposite.

It's what we are trying to do, one small client, charity or organisation at a time. Plus we have now launched 50/50, a scheme where we share half the profits with a good cause. It's all trial and error, but we will get there in the end. 

Good luck with everything.

Regards

Lee

Piers & Dominic
https://www.piersanddominic.com

Hi Melissa

I wasn’t aware of it. It was written before I was even born.

Retrospectively, it seems more than a little naive though it obviously caused a ripple at the time. Funny that they thought they’d reached saturation point then with consumer selling. I wonder what they’d think of the brand revolution, 24hr supermarkets, the internet, sports’ marketing/sponsorship. They had no idea what was to come. 

I wonder why they had it in for cat food but valued street signs so highly?

Piers

One Line Studio

http://www.onelinestudio.co.uk

Hi Melissa,

I do have a vague memory of this from uni - but I graduated 10 years ago so it's vague! 

It's been very interesting reading it though and quite apt as I'm actually going through a bit of re-brand for the studio with the very purpose of wanting to communicate more to clients why we do what we do, the way we do it. I.e what the ethical means to us.

Aside from that though back to your article and opinions on it:

A key point I noticed was where it talks about the 'sheer noise'. In 1963 advertising on TV was the noise, now it's social media. I wonder what it will be in 20 more years time!

It can be quite sad I guess that we're in an industry where things do become noise because they are overdone. It's hard to be the ones coming up with new ideas but even harder that people then copy them and do them to death!

Case in point I saw a great idea for an interactive twitter ad the other day (by Fishermans Friend if you want to look it up.) It was great because it was new and different. I have no doubt though that everyone will get on it and do the same... hence burning an idea to the death and completely diluting the creative genius behind it. I'd love it if people just said wow that's a great idea let's let it be that... but I may be being a bit too optimistic there ;)

Another point this manifesto of course brings up is the value of creativity. Putting our talents to good use. Which is something I am hugely passionate about. The industry especially the freelance world finds it difficult for some reason to value their own talents and this is something we need to work together and with trade associations to address... maybe we should start a campaign together!! There seems to be a general consensus especially in small business  that anyone with a copy of Photoshop can be a designer... as I'm sure you know that's not quite how it works. But how do we address that and not just flog our skill.. is that by only doing work in which we believe?

Does that help? If you've any specific questions please let me know.

Can you also let me have a copy of any documents where I'm quoted if you use any of this?

boo&stu digital design studio

http://www.booandstu.co.uk/index.html

Hi Melissa

Thanks for your email - interesting one!

It's actually the first time we've seen the First Things First manifesto; despite being designers now our backgrounds are actually in Fine Art so even though we love design history this isn't something we've come across before - thanks for giving us the opportunity to see it. 

We read it with great interest and it did strike us how similar the sentiment was to that in fine art practice around the same time; in the early 1960's there was a strong reaction to the perceived commercialism of abstract expressionism which led to the emergence of less commercial minimalist, site specific and conceptual art trying to reconnect with what they saw as the essence of art.

The main thing that struck us though was how modern the manifesto felt in some ways. It does seem of particularrelevance today, with the prevalence of big advertising being as it is right now. 

That aside I guess for us the central question for us is one of worth, and what constitutes something being worthwhile. 

As creative people we get a massive kick out of just making stuff as I'm sure all creative people do. Nevertheless, beyond the joy of creating stuff for a living, there has to be a feeling that we are doing something worthwhile - which for us means contributing to the planet in a positive way. The list the First Things First manifesto gives of worthwhile projects is very interesting as there are not many in it that would necessarily fill this role for us. Although, in some ways, the manifesto seems very of its time in this regard it does raise an important question about the definition of worthwhileand what it means to the individual. 

We love working with charities (we think its worthwhile) so we try to get to work with them as often as we can. However, we don't only work with charities and our experience of the design profession is that it can be very varied from the point of view of the projects you attract. Sometimes the design challenge is interesting enough within itself that the use it's put to isn't the most important thing; sometimes the way the end result will be used completely outweighs an otherwise ordinary brief. We do quite a broad mix of work but the stuff we enjoy most is either the unusual stuff, or the stuff for organisations we admire. Sometimes (like in the case of designing a papercraft dog for Cruelty Free International, to raise awareness of dogs used in animal experiments) they come together perfectly and it's the best job in the world. 

For us it's very important to have autonomy over who and what we use our skills for. We have an ethical code which outlines the kind of jobs we love doing and those we won't do; it doesn't necessarily get us our dream jobs all the time but it does tell people what we won't use our skills for, and it helps us attract like minded people. We are very aware that as designers we help shape our world both visually and conceptually and as such we are in a very powerful position to influence the values that underpin all our lives. For this reason we always turn down projects if we feel they are negative in some way. This decision is not always black and white and can be hard when you have to make ends meet. It is also very subjective; only each individual designer can make the decision about what's important to them and what they want to invest their skills in. 

We are very aware that this isn't always easy and designers can't necessarily choose the work they do to support themselves all of the time. However, e

ven if the 'worthwhile' projects are few and far between we have to remember that our day jobs aren't the be all and end all of our creative lives. All creative people still do the personal projects they really love doing, for causes they really care about, even if they get pushed into every spare bit of time we have. We're all still designing and illustrating books, t-shirts, creating websites to try and change hearts and minds about particular issues, and generally trying to make the world an easier and better place to live in.

I guess for us in the end it's about pursuing what we think is worthwhile, in our own way regardless. If we can do stuff we consider to be worthwhile 100% of the time in our day job it's fantastic - if not we'll just do it in our own time anyway.

Thanks again for asking. We hope this helps and the very best of luck with your dissertation.

All the Best

Stu

Cast Iron Design
http://castirondesign.com

Hi Melissa,

Yes, I’ve very familiar with the manifesto. I believe I even have signed the recent revival of it. I wish the manifesto was adhered to more by our profession but it seems that not much has changed. My take on it is that a good chunk of the designers who are doing the type of work the manifesto detests are not very interested in the field of graphic design and/or are not taking a part in its affairs (i.e. there are many “graphic design” jobs that are just like any other passionless jobs—clock in, clock out, live the rest of their lives, etc.).

We regularly make the decision to not take part in advertising work as a whole (although a lot of times our work may cross into what could be considered advertorial territory). More specifically, we’re working towards making the profession more accountable, specifically in the sector of environmentally responsible graphic design. I recommend taking a look at the Sustainability and Industry Ethics section of our FAQ  if you’d like more information about our ethics and what we’re doing in these areas.

Cheers

Jonny

moonloft

http://www.moonloft.com

Hi Melissa,

Thank you for your email. I hadn’t heard of the First Things First manifesto, but having read it now I would agree that on the whole advertising can often be a noise and irritant – and for designers to put their efforts and apply their skills to such ‘trivial purposes’ is, to me, perplexing and uninspiring. But I’m sure there are many reasons why they do this – and I’m guessing that this is primarily down to money and a lust for work experience.

However, I made a choice a number of years ago to set up my own design business, and to focus on a more ethical line of work. So now, the majority of my work comes from social enterprises, charities, and universities. One of our biggest clients is Ethical Consumer Research Association who research and provide detailed information about the ethics behind the products and services we buy. These are the kind of people I am proud to work with, as my own personal fight against mass consumerism.

I hope my comments have been useful, and I wish you all the very best with your dissertation. If there’s anything else I can help you with, just let me know.

Kind regards,

Adele

Blue Pig

http://bluepigcreative.co.uk

Hi Melissa

This is a fascinating read – when my business partner was working on her dissertation, she featured the First Things First Manifesto.

If we were aware, we would have put our names to it. There have been 1 or 2 updates since. Eye magazine featured the 1999/2000 version http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/first-things-first-manifesto-2000 and I came across this version on the internet http://firstthingsfirst2014.org interestingly enough Ken Garland who penned the original also signed his name to second version.

I think the first and second versions keep the right tone, the third version has elaborated on it a bit and I'm not sure if I understand some of their terminology or meaning.

As mentioned, I would have loved to put my name to this – but the first version I was only 2 years old and the second version I was never made aware of. The third version I didn't hear about either.

I think it chimes with what we at Blue Pig believe – our skills are important and should be put to good use. We've been in business for over 25 years now, and we've always distanced ourselves from the advertising industry. It's greedy and consumeristic and doesn't care about the environment, society or the poor. It's jumped on the bandwagon in recent years, but only because it's become fashionable and there's money to be had.

It makes for an interesting ethics discussion and I think all students should read it, study it and talk about it. I teach a Design Consultancy unit to graphic design students at Harlow University (UCH), and ethics is part of it – it's amazing to see/hear their minds turning over at this point.

I hope this helps, let me know if you need any other info. Perhaps I could see your project when it's finished?

Kind regards,

Trevor