Globalisation
and its impact on design
Globalisation is the ever-increasing
process of international, cultural and social connections across the globe,
through advances in technology, increases in international trade, and the rise
of multinational corporations. Over the past forty years huge advancements in
technology has improved the quality and the efficiency of workflow in the field
of design, and we are now ever so more dependant on our laptops and
smartphones. The introduction of social networking via the Internet has had a
massive impact on the way in which we can now share and view local and global
information, and this has had great influence on the design world. But as
globalization intensifies, and far eastern cultures take the brunt of our
western ignorance, are we subconsciously congregating into one design language?
Or is it allowing design to become more
flexible with a greater influential impact?
The World Wide Web became public in
nineteen ninety one, and now more than two billion people use the Internet
across the globe, with more than fifteen million design blogs, and this number
is increasing. With progressively large amounts of designers having instant
access to new inspirational material, it would be a mistake to disagree that the
progression of globalization, in someway, is helping feed people with new
ideas. “The internet, in particular, has assumed a pivotal function in
facilitating globalization through the creation of the World Wide Web that
connects billions of individuals, private associations, and governments.” (M.
Steger, Globalization, page 17) Connecting people through their cultures, their
thought processes and their ideas through virtual interaction is pushing
peoples ideas to maximum potential. People want to show their work to the world
for recognition and appreciation, and that is exactly what is happening. Having
the privilege of blogs like BeHance, Tumblr, Linkedin, allows us to access a
whole world of design that wasn’t possible ten years ago.
Transportation has proved a stable form
of connecting culture and design, fed through the impact of globalization and
its increase in connecting countries. Tourism and migration has allowed people
to mix and communicate face-to-face, it’s given the opportunity for cultures to
integrate into one another and has informed and enriched us with other
ideologies of the world. This has caused
a two-sided argument about impact in the design world, whether or not we are
beginning to follow one set of rules, or that the communication between
countries is improving our international understanding. “The spread of
information and corporate branding has generated something akin to a single
global culture, especially among the teenagers of the MTV generation. Those
hyping globalisation believe this will lead to greater international
understanding. Others fear that the global cultural tapestry could be replaced
by bland corporate imagery and the platitudes of ‘Just do it’ branding.” (C.
Donnellan, The Globalisation Issue, page 4) Design has its own language, and
whether it is used to manipulate, glorify or simply to make something look
professional, it is wrong to say that the global design industry could be
replaced by bland corporate imagery. It’s understandable that bland corporate
design is a section of the cultural tapestry, but this in know way has the
hierarchy of what people love and want to see. Design is supposed to be
intriguing, interesting, inspirational, thought provoking, clean, messy, etc.
It’s about individual expression through a combination of your own rules and the
elements that make up design.
An example of globalisation, and how countries
being better connected has an impact on design, is the spread of the Swiss
style and its influence on a lot of artists and designers internationally. The
Swiss style was a graphic design style that was developed during the 1950’s.
Elements include, structured layouts with the use of grids, heavy typography
using san serif fonts, very clean and minimal composition, use of negative
space, and photographs replacing illustrations. It can also be referred to as
the International Typography Style, which in it’s self explains that it is
globally practiced and recognised. Joseph Müller-Brockmann was a pioneer of this clean,
functional style; and as can be seen here in (Figure. 1) his work is very
structured. It follows a very
asymmetrical form, which emits a very clean, readable style. Very minimal with
limited colour, and simple aligned shapes, complimenting the overall
composition. The Swiss style paid attention to detail and followed strict
technical typographic rules, and it was due to the quality, precision and the
way in which it functioned that spread the style across the globe. ‘From abroad, in the 1950s and 1960s,
Switzerland was slowly seen to be the source of a definable style. The evidence
was chiefly provided by Graphis; but
Swiss designers were active in self-promotion. In 1962 the London-based annual Modern Publicity recorded that more than
five hundred Swiss advertising designs had been submitted for publication. The
influence of Swiss designers was most strongly felt in the United States. It
was heralded by Herbert Matter’s arrival in New York in 1935.’ (R. Hollis,
Swiss Graphic Design, page 252). An example of an early American designer that
was heavily influenced by Swiss design was Rudolph de
Hara. (Figure 2) You can see straight away the traits of the Swiss style in his
work. He’s used Akzidenz Grotesk
throughout, it’s very structured and the composition has been thought about, which
reflects Brockmans work (Figure 1). ‘Yet the graphic design and typography
developed in Switzerland in the middle years of the twentieth century was a
template used and adapted by designers for fifty years. Its origin was
pan-European. Its consummation and achievements were Swiss. But now it is
justly described as an international style.’ (R. Hollis, Swiss
Graphic Design, page 260) The Swiss style is still imitated considerably today,
as seen here in Mario Eskanazi’s Hora Punta (Figure 3) and here in Tony Brooks
Nike advertisement (Figure 4). Both designs feature the structured grid layout,
clean san serif fonts, minimal graphics and limited colour. It’s interesting to
see such a style make it internationally, and stay the same in both composition
and type over a long period of time, reflecting that the world wide spread of
the Swiss style has had a positive impact.
Western culture dominates a lot of what
we see and recognise as being familiar design. A part of the industry or not,
almost anyone can point out what coca cola looks like, or what McDonalds is
like. ‘The inexorable rise of giant transnational corporations (TNGs) leis at
the heart of globalisation. Brand names, from Nike to Coca Cola, have become
some of the most widely recognisable images on the planet” (C. Donnellan, The
Globalisation Issue, page 4) It’s not so much the brand being popular, but the
way in which people copy and are influenced by which is having an effect. Take American
design, Japanese design and British design for an example. All recognisable
styles in their own right, but it has now almost become impossible to work out
whether a design is from Japan, America or Britain, due to the influential
impact of trending design. I believe what people produce and what people
consume has been impacted by what we are shown on a daily basis, again the
Internet has facilitated this.
As graphic design has become ever so more
increasingly popular over the past few years, and with the help of the
Internet, designers can easily access anyone’s work and ‘borrow’ anyone’s
ideas. People are using and following design traits/ themes because we’re shown
them and can access them on a regular basis, and whatever is trending, people
will follow. ‘Music, video, theatre, books, and theme parks are all constructed
as American image exports that create common tastes around common logos,
advertising slogans, stars, songs, brand names, jingles, and trademarks’ (M.
Steger, Globalization, page 73) Similar to popular music and popular brands,
its instinct to follow the crowd, to feel a part of a community and to feel
envied. This is reflected in a lot of modern design, and can be seen through
the popularity of the iconic Swiss style. So, globalisation is definitely
impacting design, people have instant access to local and international design,
but is this impact having a positive or negative effect?
Surely, everything is copied, so using another
countries/ cultures style to communicate your own beliefs and values, if done
well, can be seen as a good thing. To communicate to the culture that surrounds
you, you have to use familiar traits that those people are going to understand.
‘Because there are different cultures, holding different values, beliefs and so
on, each culture will have a slightly different taken on the meaning of an
advertisement or a brand’ (M. Barnard, Graphic Design As Communication, page 160)
An example of Graphic design which is significant to our culture are road
signs, many of which were designed by British typographer and graphic designer Margaret Calvert. Our signs are significant to us, but in other countries
the meaning can be completely different. The style used has been reflected
worldwide, and road signs are now some of the most recognizable, culturally
significant simple pieces of graphic design.
Countries have their own meanings for
different things, so when designing for a specific culture you have to consider
the colours, images and words you use. Because of this, designers are always
forced to adapt to the environment. ‘For example, in one of the antique
internet browsers that I use, ‘home’ is signified by a square building, with a
tiled roof and a chimney; In another, ‘home’ is signified by a circular
building with a conical roof. Members of cultures in which square buildings
with chimneys are unknown will have to learn what the icon means in order for it
to communicate meaningfully with them’ (M. Barnard, Graphic Design As
Communication, page 158) Without the help of symbols/ ideas/ values being
communicated which people recognise or believe in, people are going to find it
hard to connect with what is being presented. It’s from this you can see how
design is always going to be specific to where it is designed. It’s the job of
the graphic designer to adapt and design for the environment he has been
placed. ‘If the role of culture in
communication is taken seriously, then the values of a local culture, in terms
of which that culture constructs connotational meanings, have to be present in
advertising or packaging. If they are not, then that advertising and packaging
will not be interpreted or understood’ (M. Barnard, Graphic Design As
Communication, page 154)
As globalization may be spreading
cultural design into a global trend, there is a lot of argument to whether this
is resulting in the creation of one design language ‘They suggest that
we are not moving towards a cultural rainbow that reflects the diversity of the
worlds existing cultures. Rather, we are witnessing the rise of an increasingly
homogenized popular culture underwritten by a western ‘culture industry’ based
in New York, Hollywood, London and Milan’ (M. Steger, Globalization, page 70) Therefore effecting the more vulnerable cultures. ‘Cultural
homogenization thesis argue that western norms and lifestyles are overwhelming
more vulnerable culture’ (M. Steger, Globalization, page 71) When we think of a
countries ‘Culture’, we tend to think very traditionally. We are now living in
the 21st century, and culture, everywhere, is changing. It’s common
knowledge that a countries origin reflects it’s cultural differences, and this
is similar to design. We may be borrowing ideas and designing for our own
benefit and for the benefit of the audience, but we are always going to be
aware of the fact, depending on the design, where the origin of that design
lies. ‘And they say that graphic designers are faced by ‘conflicting
imperatives’ to contribute towards the establishment of the global village but not
to contribute to the process in which cultural groups dominate or assimilate
other cultural groups…’ (M. Barnard, Graphic Design As Communication, page 153)
Culture in graphic design is so diverse that if design is to become one global
language, that global language would most definitely be enriched with a history
of skilled professionals and analytical theories on ideas, practices and
design. It would be a language that has the knowledge of hundreds of years of
intelligent designers, perfecting graphic design as a visual language. But
then, nothing is ever perfect, so surely this language would be ever expanding,
on the exploration for perfection.
Globalisation is definitely having an
impact on the way we design, produce and share information. It’s improved the
way in which we can communicate with people across the globe, which has had a
positive impact on how we swap information, and has improved printing methods
and printing costs, which in turn benefits designers. ‘Using twenty four hour
email, companies can split up their assembly lines between countries on
different sides of the globe, sending designs and orders down the phone line
and shifting components from one country to another to minimise cost.’ (C.
Donnellan, The Globalisation Issue, page 4) The creation of Pantone has
especially had an impact on design, allowing us to successful match and print
correct colours from around the globe. Advancement in technology has seen a
massive improvement in printing, with mass printing happening at an alarmingly
quick rate. We now have instant access to online printing stores that can
supply us with professionally handled, high quality print in days. Recognition
of small time companies and boutique arts and crafts stores is improving, with
online communities sharing and appreciating local work.
With the ability to print mass amounts
with such efficiency, has meant the spread of large global corporations
distribution their image and brand across the globe at a much more extensive
rate and at a greater scale. ‘As images and ideas can be more easily and
rapidly transmitted from one place to another, they profoundly impact the way
people experience their everyday lives’ (M. Steger, Globalization, page 70) As
we can’t get away from advertisements and their persistent confirmation that
whatever they’re selling is going to make our lives a hell of a lot better, we
subconsciously take in this fake life which we are expected to live up to.
‘Saturating global cultural reality with formulaic TV shows and mindless
advertisements, these corporations increasingly shape peoples identities and
the structure of desires around the world (M. Steger, Globalization, page 76) And
as the spread of these advertisements has become a part of our culture, it’s
becoming harder to find work within the graphic design industry that is not
helping facilitate these major corporations. This often gives the role of a
graphic designer a bad name, selling something that is not entirely true. ‘The
role of graphic design in this argument is to construct the meanings or images
of brands and to produce the advertisements which ‘convey’ that meaning or
image to the world. Graphic designers are therefore part of the process in
which local cultures are ‘stripped’ of their values and beliefs on behalf of globalising
corporations’ (M. Barnard, Graphic Design As Communication, page 159)
But for advertisement/ packaging/ branding to
work in existing cultures, you need to offer relatable values that a culture
understands, therefore taking into account the beliefs of that culture for
their benefit. ‘Consequently, although graphic designers are reproducing the
position of dominant western cultures and multinational corporations through
advertising, the specificity and difference of the local cultures has to be understood
in order for the advertising to communicate with that culture at all’ (M.
Barnard, Graphic Design As Communication, page 155) This highlights that
graphic design is about adapting to culture, not about destroying what already
exists. ‘Sociologist Roland Robertson, for example, contends that global
cultural flows often reinvigorate local cultural niches. Hence, rather than
being totally obliterated by the western consumerist forces of sameness, local
difference and particularity still play an important role in creating unique
cultural constellations’ (M. Steger, Globalization, page 75)
If you are a designer fully engaged in
the design industry, you learn to fully understand what is around you, how
things work. Which makes you aware of design cultures, ideas, changes. Making
you less likely to slip into this one cultural language. We are aware that
large corporations are selling us rubbish, we are aware that a lot of their
design is redundant and very robotic, but that is just what is shown on the
surface. Design is so culturally influenced; borrowing cultural structure/
ideas surely should be seen as a positive. Without the Internet, borrowing cultural
niches was always bound to happen, the invention of the Internet has just sped
up the process. ‘After all, poster
modern, global graphic design and modern, international graphic design are both
forms of communication, both rely on cultural values in order to construct and
communicate meanings and both produce and reproduce political relations’ (M.
Barnard, Graphic Design As Communication, page 160)
Bibliography
Barnard, M. (2005) Graphic Design As Communication. England, Routledge.
Donnellan, C. (2002) Globalization. Cambridge, Independence.
Hollis, R. (2006) Swiss Graphic Design, the origin and growth of an international style.
London, Lawrence key Publishing..
Steger, B, M. (2003) Globalization, a very short introduction. United States, Oxford
University Press Inc.
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