Designing meaningful difference

As a designer we are trained to seek out and exploit difference. We design logos that set companies apart from others. We design packaging for products that sets them apart from their competition. We naturally think differently to others and originality is the design holy grail. There is another side to difference though. Difference needs to be meaningful. Meaning in our lives is dependent on our actions. When we help someone or acheive something it enriches our life. Meaning in business as it is in life is derived from doing the things that you are passionate about and having possitive benefit. That is meaningful difference. It is nearly impossible to create truely meaningful difference through design when the ideals and motivation that drive the design do not ring true.

I believe that difference is a good thing, it is our difference that drives our creativity and enriches our societies. People are inherently different but at the same time we all hold some common values. Do we try to be different? Probably not, I think it is more likely that we try harder to be the same, to conform. If we naturally follow what feels true and important to us, follow our hearts, we will naturally be different. Popular culture is more often about conformity, exploiting our fundamental need to belong. Our economy is driven by spending on consumerables and as such we are told to be continually disatisfied by life. We are told to throw away our uncool 6 month old gadget and buy the new slightly improved one, to toss out our wardrobe and dress like the latest fashionable celebrity. So I ask myself as a designer do I feel guilty to be part of this system of pressure and supression of difference? The simple answer is yes I do feel guilty but not hopeless. I think there is a changing mood that is incredibly inspiring and exciting.

There are government leaders, Barak Obama being the obvious one who cellebrate difference who do not influence by messages of conformity and fear but that preach that we should be proud to be different. He is very sure of his vision and it is the passion and energy that he leads with, that people are drawn to and follow. There are similarly businesses that are as self assured, that have a burning passion and ultimate aim beyond profit that attract us to follow them. However these leaders and companies are completely polarizing. They are vocal with opinions, and brazen in their actions. As such not everybody will sympathise and agree. These people operate outside of accepted 'norms' and will inevitably face opposition. On the flip side those that follow them will do so with an enthusiasm and dedication that is infectious. It is by no fluke that Obama has gone from the outside chance to a president with over 70% support.

I am passionate about design. I think that it has a huge power to influence, and inspire. I love the challenge of communicating complex messages in simple sensory ways. However, I do not like using my design skills to gloss over, to bambozal and to twist what is true. It makes me feel dishonest. When I have worked on designs for products that exploit their suppliers, pollute the planet, produce unhealthy products and treat their staff as an exploitable commodity I feel guilty. Yes we all need to make money but how can I advocate being true to ourselves when I feel guilty about doing what I love.

I did mention however that I do not feel hopeless, I am definitely hopeful. There are an increasing number of companies that are values lead. They exist because they want to acheive something meaningful, they are meaningfully different and want to create meaningful difference. They are not slaves to shareholders and profit. They exist because they believe in something and conduct their business with honesty and regard to those around them. They are inclusive rather than secretive, genorous rather than mean and definitely optomististic rather than fearful. Those are the companies that I would feel proud to work with.

What is difference and what has it got to do with design?

This is my first blog, so like my ever so slightly mad (aren't they all?) English teacher Mr Drummond once said, "all stories must have a beginning, middle and end". He also said that if "you woke up and it is was all a dream" it would be marked as an instant failiure. With this in mind, lets begin.

My name is Clare I am a senior graphic designer. I am living and working as a freelance designer in Auckland, New Zealand. I am originally from High Wycombe in England, a not so small London suburb, that thankfully has lots of beautiful green spaces. Enough about me as it is not the intended subject for this blog. I want to take a look at the organisations and individuals who are as the title suggests expressing their difference through design.

It is important at this point to define what I mean by different. Different in this case means those that are distinct from others in the ways that they think and act. Different from who or what though? I am not entirely sure how to define the 'norm' by which we measure things that are different. Normal is complicated! 'Norms' are the rules or standards and expectations that guide the behaviour of members of a society' (Scott, 2000). So it is those that fly against these norms that strike us as being different. Sometimes called visionaries, inventors, groundbreakers, crackpots! these people lead the way in creating new ways of doing things, continually questioning. I am interested in those that have used design as an integral part of defining and communicating what it is that makes them different.

The interesting thing is that difference seems to be transient. Difference often turns to convention mostly without us noticing maybe this is actually a mark of success? Some organisations and individuals however continue to strive to be different, not for it's sake but because they see the world differently to most of us. Those are the individuals and companies I want to champion. I believe that successful design has helped these people to bridge gaps and communicate with the world. What might have otherwise remained outlandish and alien to most with the help of design becomes trustworthy and even inspiring. Design can only be as powerful as the message behind it. If the message it conveys rings with confidence, truth and sensibility we can connect to it.

In each post, I will feature a design and the company or individual behind it and why I believe them to be different. My aim is to create a sort of whos who of companies that inspire through a focussed heartfelt message and great design.