Dear All,
the article in the guardian from Martin Parker is quite an interesting provocation and putting the design schools in the same context is an extension of this provocation. I do agree with Ken, that the case is different, but I can't hide that the negative impact of the design schools should be as well considered. Insofar the post from Terry is quite interesting as well.
I do remember a discussion I had quite a decade ago, teaching in US. I was challenged by the hype to celebrate the achievements of former graduates of the design school I was teaching at that time. They did invent and engineer the crest spinning toothbrush which costs even today less then 20USD. The two graduates sold the patent to P&G for quite a number of millions 3 digits). The hype was the huge financial success of these designers inventing something which would produce a toothbrush for less then 10 USD during that time and making it accessible to everybody. What was not considered was the landfill and the environmental impact, since the research showed that per year a severe number of crest toothbrushes would be added to the waste, to the landfills, since the toothbrush half-life is less then a year and not recyclable.
Looking at the huge environmental issues we are facing in the oceans etc. the questions regarding our design schools are as well appropriate as for our business schools.
I am getting back to the discourse we had regarding our social business workshops and the impact of design for social business etc. Business by itself isn't a bad thing, if the purpose of the business is ethically framed and sustainable and the business system can at least be evaluated up to a certain point.
The same can be said for the design schools as well, since designing by itself is a task which is ethically not questionable as long as we do consider the impact of our doing, the propose of designing.
But it is as well clear that we are always designing and designing business within a complex system. The impact therefore can never seen completely. And in addition we are designing in a capitalistic system.
How that can be taught at design schools or at business schools, that is the question. How such a culture of responsibility, of purpose can be build?
If we are not able to do that, I do agree we better close them down.
Prof. Dr. Jurgen Faust
President Macromedia University | Professor of Design | Macromedia University | Munich, Germany | Email [log in to unmask] | http://www.mhmk-international.org/
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