Design should be about bringing out the humanity that can be found in the media. Is modern design at risk of losing its humanity? Computers are not powerful enough to create their own designs and take over from humans yet, but the day is drawing closer where this might be a reality.
Computers have seen a decline in the amount of human contact that people have with the world. When you are working as a designer, you spend a lot of time sitting in front of your computer screen. You interact with the world through what you see on the screen, and the inputs that you make. Dealing with clients, colleagues and organizations is often done through the use of a computer. Many freelancers now spend their entire work life interacting through their computer. I know that I only deal with clients by emails and IM. How many other people are losing their sense of humanity because of the use of computers?
While technology seems to be causing a decline in human interaction, there are ways in which it can help to bring out and share our humanity with others.
When you are going to design something, you have to think about why you are doing so. What is the intention of the product that you are advertising? How do your client’s services propose to help others? Creating a sense of feeling in through visuals, content and branding is a difficult thing to do. Many companies appear to be cold and heartless, while lacking any sense of humanity. Fixing this problem is one of the things, which a good designer must do in order to portray their client’s message to the public.
In years gone by creating a product from a client’s brief meant conducting face to face meetings, or at least communicating over the telephone. These days’ people communicate electronically instead. Without having face to face meetings, it is difficult to get across exactly what a client wants. Often we are left with alienating and robotic designs, which are void of any human emotion at all.
Working through the internet over long distances might seem like a more effective way to do business, but without human contact, design ideas are often not as effective. This can lead to those ideas being less efficient at doing what they are meant to do. Without close communications, the process of getting a job done can often take even longer, despite what we might think about internet communication. Sure, you can hire a worker from another country, who has the best skills and the best price for you. However, you will lose something by being able to communicate only through emails and IM programs.
Human beings are becoming more and more influenced by how they interact with technology. As consequence people often forget about putting humanity into their products, which in turn makes people even less human themselves. People need to consider the human interaction with a design if they are going to make something that elevates humanity, rather than taking away from it.
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