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Dear Terry For me, politics is the process by which groups take decisions. It is not about power equations which it is often considered to be. Those in power will take decisions but these need not be correct nor do they have to be sustainable. However in a true democracy, people have a role to play in moving their politcians to act on their behalf and in an accountable manner. Designers must be equipped to be part of this process and offer their sensibilities while being a part of this group process. When design is about shaping the future by the creation of value it is most effective at the leading edge where decisions are taken. Perhaps you would be more comfortable if I stated that I would like to see politicians adopt design and the design language in their decision making processes and not just use rhetoric and economics as their base. We need to put design into the hands of those who take decisions and in this way the design sensibilities, which is not driven by knowledge and truth alone, but by sense and conviction based on a variety of explorations (samplings, prototypes and trends), would inform and support a sustainable decision for all of us. My use of the word politics is aligned to the HfG Ulm Foundation for Design, see the competition announcement at this link here: <http://www.hfg-ulm.de/443.html?&L=1> Further, Tomas Maldonado in his book "Design, Nature and Revolution: Toward a Critical Ecology" Harper & Row, New York 1972, does give us a very perceptive view of the shaping of design at this level of action. With warm regards M P Ranjan from my office at NID 22 April 2008 at 8.15 pm IST -------------------------------------------------------------- Prof M P Ranjan Faculty of Design Head, Centre for Bamboo Initiatives at NID (CFBI-NID) Chairman, GeoVisualisation Task Group (DST, Govt. of India) (2006-2008) National Institute of Design Paldi Ahmedabad 380 007 India Tel: (off) 91 79 26623692 ext 1090 Tel: (res) 91 79 26610054 Fax: 91 79 26605242 email: [log in to unmask] web site: http://homepage.mac.com/ranjanmp web domain: http://www.ranjanmp.in blog: <http://www.design-for-india.blogspot.com> education blog: <http://www.design-concepts-and-concerns.blogspot.com> education blog: http://www.visible-information-india.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------------- Terence Love wrote: > Hi Ranjan, > > You wrote, > <snip> I do believe we [designers] have a major role here and we must not > abdicate this to politicians <endsnip> > > This sort of implies you see that the true role of designers as _above_ > politicians (the democratically elected representatives of society)? > > Sounds a little bit like playing god... or perhaps 'dictators' ...? or > maybe 'your majesties'!? > > It feels a bit different from the idea of 'design as service'. > > Warm regards, > > Terry > >