Design: Vernacular Design

Professionalism, Amateurism, and the Boundaries of Design

As seen in the title, the most striking factor of this particular article was the back and forth play between amateurism and professionalism in the world of design. Describing the role of professionalism in earlier centuries depicted the transition of its meaning to the contemporary times. Before, one with a set profession was looked upon as a royal, and most even were. However, now profession belongs to those who engage, succeed, and later immerse themselves in their favored studies to a point where it becomes their career. On the other hand amateurism links to those who engage themselves in a field out of passion, but for whatever reason do not have the proper education to back it up. Amateurs create out of their own expression, disregarding what others might say or think. This gives them freedom of expression, and broadens the horizons in designing, whereas the professional designer usually must conform to the authority who lays out the paycheck, and therefore, is strangling the ever so important freedom of expression the amateur designer possesses.

·      -Artists promoted their individuality, whereas artisans were anonymous workers.

·      -Amateurism presents the designer with a greater freedom  of expression as opposed to the professional.

·      -Amateurs have a better relationship with their clients

·      -Whether professional or amateur, both belong to the same structure of design as art form.

We’re Here to be Bad

Focusing solely on praising amateur or ‘inappropriate design’, the article seemed almost as a call for designers to stand up and fight against the corporate world who have artists trapped within their worlds and not letting them create what the designers truly have the potential to create.  The basic aim of this particular call for change is to free designers of the boundaries they are constrained to when creating. In this case amateur or unconventional design is the way to reform and be ‘bad’. It is interesting to see, that even the design of the article itself seems unconventional and goes hand in hand with the idea of a designer’s revolt. The way the images were placed randomly throughout the pamphlet, along with the continuously changing fonts, it gives the reader a hint of an attempt to get a provocative message out, not only through the meaning of words but their design, and the inappropriately designed environment they are set it.

·      -Vernacular is slang, an invented language rather than taught

·      -Professional/appropriate design appeals to the large mass of people

·      -Amateur/inappropriate design questions the view of the large mass off people they have on the normal design

·      -Rules about what is appropriate narrows down the possible

·      -Designers are supposed look and think outside of their limitations to create something unique