Thursday 31 October 2013

Citizen Design



Increasing popularity of the internet and web 2.0 has led to an increase in user generated content, which is becoming more popular with consumers. The best example of this would be citizen journalism, citizen journalism is on the rise with the introduction of websites such as twitter and various blog sites. Citizen journalism is not the only job being taken over by the consumers. One variation of the citizen producer is the idea of a citizen designer. A citizen designer is someone who takes the idea of graphic design in to their own hands often designing their own websites, clothing, posters and various other mediums that communicate visually.




Through the introduction of various software's and programs now widely available to anyone with an internet and decent computer, many people are choosing to design their own things, rather than seek out a third party and if they do choose to find help it would be a collaborative effort. Large businesses have also latched onto this idea by holding competitions in which it is up to the participant to design their product or logo and has seen many successful designs become taken up by these companies, consider this joint entrepreneurism.
(source: http://goo.gl/6K4IX7)


(source: http://goo.gl/lbwkG0)



















Many business have also started around this, websites such as threadless.com, who allow the user to upload a design to the website and have it voted on and whoever gets the most votes has the design available for purchase and gets a percentage of the profits, with $8,774,411 spread among 1,200 designers. The fact that this website is based on voting and popularity means it can maintain a high quality of design and content, the voting system means that the quality of the work and website does not drop "because of the anonymity of Internet users, however, ensuring information quality or inducing quality content remains a challenge." (Chen, XU & Whinston, 2011). Threadless shows that involving everyone from the people who design to those who purchase ensures that the quality of the designing remains at a high standard.
(source;http://www.threadless.com/product/4542/Space/tab,walls/)


















Another facet of the citizen designer can be seen through high school, university and college programs, I'll focus on the highschool program in NSW which is based around the HSC (High School Certificate). There is an elective called Design and Technology and is based around the use of design to create ideas and produce them. Having personally participated in this elective it has set me up for future work in designing. The best designs are then showcased at the powerhouse museum, the process is all documented and a lot of research is carried out. The ability to give aspiring design students to have free reign at a design that can better society and provide them with the technology and knowledge for them to carry this out, sets them up for better quality designs in the future and can only have a positive effect on the consumers and future user generated content.

Participatory culture is becoming more influential and is having a bandwagon effect. People are choosing to create their own ideas and support others who do as well rather than subscribe to substandard mainstream media. Participatory culture and indeed citizen designing is causing waves among media, "participation that could impact the structures and systems of media itself" (Wofford, 2010). With the citizen designer creating works that are becoming increasingly better than what's already out there, there is a certain amount of catching up that is needed by media before they get left behind completely.

References:

Chen, J., Xu, H. and Whinston, A. (2011). Moderated Online Communities and Quality of User-Generated Content. Journal of Management Information Systems, 28.

Wofford, J. (2012). User Generated Content. New Media and Society, 14 (7)

Sunday 13 October 2013

Knowledge Workers in the Design Industry



The introduction of Web 2.0 to the masses has allowed for a shift in the skills required to be successful employee. Practical based jobs such as those in agriculture or construction are being overlooked by those who's main asset is knowledge. These knowledge worker jobs are becoming increasingly popular, this can be seen in the increasing popularity of universities "The proportion of people aged 15–64 years who were enrolled in study for a qualification increased from 17% in 2001 to 19% in 2012."(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012).


A knowledge worker is an employee who's main skill is the knowledge that they have acquired throughout many years of study or experience in a certain field. An employee who has attained a lot of information will be a indispensable asset to any business. This is especially prevalent in the design industry, these jobs are requiring more and more technical knowledge. With the rise of computers and design software, the design jobs sector has been growing "The top-growing job is a design illustrator, which saw 19.7 percent growth in the quarter, followed closely by a Photoshop designer (up 19.4 percent). The third fastest-growing job was 3D rendering, up 17.3 percent." (Jean, 2013). The rise of the design jobs and increase of knowledge workers can be seen through the new economic paradigm where the focus is on knowledge and creativity (Flew, 2008) two qualities that employees in the design industry must possess to be successful.





(source: http://bevisible.co.za)


To become a knowledge worker in the design industry there a skills that are needed, skills such as being able to prioritize complex work, see the cause and effect of certain situations and being able to create or alternate a strategy. Not only does a future knowledge worker in the design industry need to have the above skills, they also need to know about the many programs and software used in the industry. Programs such as the ever present Photoshop Creative Suite, Indesign and a plethora of 3d design software.


Not only will a new employee into this industry need to know these skills, but they will also have to bring some creativity to the venture. To become successful they will need to bring new ideas and creativity into a thriving knowledge economy. Having creativity is as important as the knowledge you hold, "Joy Paul Guilford, who defined creativity as a form of intelligence to be distinguished from that measured by IQ" (Le Masson, Hatchuel & Weil, 234, 2011). Creativity is an important skill to have in the design industry, being able to think beyond the problem to find a solution is imperative to a successful design career. The ability to create that which is not currently being achieved in the industry is a skill highly sought after in potential employees and would set them apart from the rest.


While being creative, knowledge workers will also need to be able to conjure up ideas. This is why knowledge workers are referred to as idea producers. The ability to create ideas stems from having a high sense of creativity. In seeing this it is possible to say that the acquisition of creativity is a highly sought after commodity by design influenced business. This can be seen through the quote "...where the importance of creativity at work is undeniable" (Batey, 2011). Further examples of the importance of idea producing and creativity can be seen in the quote "creativity is essential in every people-based organisation" (Batey, 2011).


With the increasing popularity of the design sector it is becoming more important to be knowledgeable. Not only will technical skills be required but creativity also, as creativity can have a positive effect on the business and allow for the creation of ideas which can push the company to the next level. In a society where the focus has moved from a laboring force to a society where the focus is very much on the knowledge that employees know. This just further increases the idea of a knowledge economy, where knowledge, creativity and idea producing are very much the sought after commodity.
References:

Abs.gov.au (2013). 6227.0 - Education and Work, Australia, May 2012. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/6227.0Main%20Features3May%202012?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6227.0&issue=May%202012&num=&view= [Accessed: 13 Oct 2013].
Batey, M. (2011). Developing Creativity. Training Journal, pp. 64-69.
Flew, T. (2008). New Media an Introduction. 3rd ed. Oxford.
Jean, S. (2013). Where are the fastest-growing jobs online? design and 3D printing. [online] Retrieved from: http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/where-are-the-fastest-growing-jobs-online-design-and-3d-printing.html/ [Accessed: 13 Oct 2013].
Le Masson, P., Hatchuel, A. and Weil, B. (2011). The Interplay between Creativity Issues and Design Theories: A New Perspective for Design Management Studies?caim_613 217..237. Creativity and Innovation Management, 20 (4).