First Things First, Revisited
Written March 4, 2008 by Stacy Westbrook. Have something to say? Add your comment »
In 1999, Emigre reprinted Ken Garland’s 1964 First Things First Manifesto in issue 49. It was a call to arms for designers to stop whoring ourselves and start waking up to the social, environmental, and financial responsibilities we face in our work. Then came First Things First 2000 in issue 51, with a simultaneous printing in Adbusters. This was back when I was just getting started in my design career, and to see such a bold statement from vaunted designers and design educators was pretty amazing. I frankly didn’t know what to do with what I was reading.
First Things First essentially states that the design profession has become the marketing arm of consumerism, hawking wares the public does not truly need, and allowing this consumerism to define our profession. The manifesto further states that designers need to take back their craft, focus on worthy challenges, apply their skills for good rather than materialism, and elevate the profession as a whole while we lift up worthy causes with our craft.
The theme of Emigre issue 49 in which the original First Things First was printed is “Everything is for Sale”, and sadly not much has changed in the last nine years. Even more is for sale now, especially when we take the internet into consideration. However, I feel a sea change happening — at least in Portland. It’s taken me nine years to gain the experience and perspective necessary to figure out how to embrace the manifesto in my own life. Back when I was 23, it seemed impossible to eschew commercial consumerist design work and make a living. I thought, “Oh sure, it’s easy to be Rudy Vanderlaans and Tibor Kalman and Ellen Lupton, throwing off the yoke of commercial design to focus on more altruistic causes.” I could sympathize with people who railed against FTF in letters to Emigre and Adbusters. Back then, just getting a design job was a great start, ethics be damned! Back then, the dot coms were still booming. The dot-bust didn’t change views amongst most designers; it really just made things worse, as we all competed for jobs and clients.
I feel like we designers weren’t quite ready to accept First Things First in 2000. It was swept under the millennial rug with the Y2K bug. It made people angry and defensive, they wrote letters to Emigre all year long about how offended they were by FTF. But now that we live in a time of a second Bush term, $4 a gallon gasoline, the real effects of global warming, and an increasing restriction on civil liberties and rights, I think moving in the direction of FTF is a necessity and not just a rosy dream. In the face of all we know, all that is coming, how can we sit idly by and sell useless crap to people who don’t need it, can’t afford it, and will just chuck it in the local landfill?
Why is First Things First necessary now? Because we need to change the goals and purpose of design from the inside. This isn’t just about using recycled paper and soy inks, or having an enewsletter rather than a print one. We need to stop treating people like consumers, stop feeding them a diet of garbage and lies, and start using our powers for good. As they say in FTF, this isn’t about abolishing consumer advertising. It’s about changing our priorities and using our skills for worthwhile priorities. You don’t have to quit your day job and start working just for non-profits, but you do need to start thinking about what you’re making, what you’re doing, how you use your design skills. To quote a certain presidential candidate, “Yes we can!”
I’m glad I hung on to my old issues of Emigre and Adbusters. It’s time to get back to those ideals, stop making excuses, and start changing design one client, project, designer, student at a time.
Categorized under Design, Principles, Reading
