Designer manual
May I design everything as a designer?
I have created this manual to define my personal design boundaries.
When I started with my study Art Communication and Design two years ago, I had never thought about the question what kind of designer I am. In that time, I mostly thought about designing cool logos, fonts and campaigns. Just making things, that was what I used to do.
During my study, I have seen more than one designer. Social-designers, bio-designers, geo-designers, conceptual-designers, mobility-designers, food-designers and many more designers. However, wherein this row is the designer that just makes super cool images?
I began to realize, that with the skills I have learned I can do more than creating those cool images.
To investigate in which direction I want to move as a designer and to find my boundaries, I started the project with the question ‘May I design everything as a designer?’ This is a personal question and research strategy. However, it can also provide insight for other designers to define their own boundaries.
The project is divided into four sections as you can see in the manual.
Design for politics What are my boundaries when I design for politics? Do I approve when I design posters for an anti-muslim campaign? Do I approve it, when I hurt or embarrass my family with my design?
Design for experimenting Do I approve it when I design something, that looks good and is fun to make but does not have a deeper function?
Outsourcing of design Do I approve it when I give other people the command to design for me? Where is the boundary between a designer and a supervisor?
Design for economics What if I design only for a lot of money? Where is the boundary between happiness and personal value versus making money?
The outcomes of this personal project are described in the manual (currently only in Dutch).
