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)

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).

Innovations among Graphic Design

Graphic design has become popular among business and the likes of photo shop wizards and is described as being "Halfway between art and technology" (Nielsen & Maria Trias, 2000) . Graphic design communicates a message in a creative and distinct way, that often relies on important choices such as font, colours and spacing to effectively communicate the message. Advertising has been around for many years and has strong links with business art form of graphic design. Many innovations such as the computer, photoshop, Internet and tablets have allowed for a rapid increase in clever creativity which has allowed messages to consumed by the engaged. The rate of adoption among the industry of graphic design can be seen through the diffusion of innovations model.

Example of Graphic Design. Figure 1.1

Through the introduction of computers, designers could move from using the hands and use computers where mistakes are a simple fix. The role of the computer has become an important factor in the sector of graphic design, it is hard to imagine how the role of graphic design could of been done without a computer and the latest edition of photoshop. The rate of adoption among business's to use computers to aid with their designs would of been at the stage we know as early adopters, this is the stage after the innovators. This would of been done due to the fact that the design sector has always been seen as "trendy" and up to date and would want to keep up that image.

Example of Graphic Design. Figure 1.2

The introduction of photoshop into the home computer allowed people to create their own designs just as easily as the professionals could, this coupled with the Internet allowed many people to share and exchange ideas, as well as showing people how to accomplish certain things within the program. "Thanks to the advent of faster, more powerful computers and faster Internet, we expect our graphics to be higher quality. We as viewers expect more colours, higher resolutions, and more detailed designs..... whereas even as little as five years ago, designers had to be mindful of what they could unload onto us" (Neely, 2012)

It does not take much looking around the Internet to see an influence of graphic design, through the introduction of computers, photoshop and Internet advertisements are no longer physical but more intangible. Figures such as the revenue after the introduction of the creative suite 5 "The outfit's revenue rose 34 percent from a year earlier to $943 million during the fiscal second quarter" (Farrell, 2010), just goes to show how popular the program is and how many people are using the program for design aspects. The majority of people who use this product would fall into the category of early majority, they would fit into this category because the programs popularity came after the product had already been out for awhile and many had seen its capabilities.

Timeline of Photoshops History. Figure 1.3

The graphic design industry is reliant on new technologies and the latest version of software in order to keep up with the rise of advertising that is taking place. The introduction of the personal computer, Internet and photoshop allowed the mass sharing of ideas and creativity, especially among those previously deemed un-creative. These innovations have been proven to widely popular and through the use of the diffusion's of innovations it is possible to see were each persons places among the "s" curve on the diffusion of innovations model. 

By Bradley Jones

2013 

References:


Diaz, J. (2010). Adobe Photoshop The 20th anniversary. [image online] Available at: http://www.anhosting.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ahimage22.jpg [Accessed: 25 Sep 2013].


Farrell, N. (2013). Adobe sales give Apple a taste of reality. [online] Retrieved from: http://news.techeye.net/software/adobe-sales-give-apple-a-taste-of-reality [Accessed: 25 Sep 2013].


Neely, A. (2013). The Influence of Technology on Graphic Design. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/publishing/articles/121403.aspx [Accessed: 25 Sep 2013].


Nielson, J. and Maria Trias, J. (2000). From the times of the first scribes: innovation and technology within graphic design. Digital Creativity, 11 (2), pp. 89 - 98. [Accessed: 25 Sep 2013].