That paradise was Byron Bay. You have probably heard of it, maybe even been here. Australia's most easterly point. The place for whale and dolphin watching. It never gets cold here - no guys you DON"T have a winter...and of course there is the beautiful beach. Truly this is the best thing about Byron. On a good day in summer you can be forgiven for thinking this is paradise. The water is warm and clear, the people are beautiful and life is laid back...
That may actually be the problem for me though. Everyone is laid back. Complacent even...ignorant probably. Ignorant of what is happening elsewhere. I am well aware this is contentious [and partly the result of incessant and painfully persistent reverse culture-shock]. The result is a soporific indulgence that in all probability is not sustainable. Sustainable - now there is a word for you. You here it a lot around here. The state of the environment appears high on the agenda in press, television, in conversation, and in the workplace...
What's the problem? It all sounds like things are good, going in the right direction...no problems. Well there are a lot of problems out there actually, and as a [for want of a beter term]creative generalist | designer, I get to thinking about this a lot...
What about China? Well you haven't seen pollution and environmental problems until you've visited. And that's where they have the human rights problems isn't it. That's where the the evil communist hourdes live isn't it? Oh, it's changing now, and our jobs are going there...it goes on and on - but what has China got to do with Byron? What is going on? AND - why is it relevant to design?
Well, I am also an educationalist - and there's the rub...See I think that teaching design is important, really important for us all. I am passionate about it. I am good at it - actually very good at it. But what I think is REALLY, REALLY important is teaching design to Chinese students, and Indian students, and African students, if we can get to them. That's what is important in the design world.
It can be argued that there is already an oversaturation of the market in terms of how many design students are churned out of western colleges and universities every year. The west is awash with aspiring designers, mid career designers, whizz kid designers, legendary designers - of all persuasions and disciplines...Guess what! There is so many designers there isn't enough work for them all! We got design in the west! We got design! Lot's of mediocre design too [ but that's another blog].
But think about it. It was designers who helped in a really big way to create so many of the problems we face as societies across this ever diminishing globe...ok, wait I'm getting to the crux of it. Western societies [and designers] have made many mistakes in how we have developed since the Industrial revolution set us off in search of design nirvana. But not everyone was invited to the party. It's only now that countries like China and India are reaching that point of critical mass in their development that we can see that there are things to sort out looming on the horizon.
We can't say, "Hey you guys, you can't have all we got because the demand is going to tip us over the edge in terms of global warming, petrol consumption, fossil fuels, environmental disasters, not to mention you wanna take all our jobs etc... etc..." Well, some will probably try, but essentially that would be reprehensible...Not that that has stopped certain quarters in the past, recent past, present day, um...
The point is that these rapidly developing nations [hate that word ;)] need to really develop - and fast! Faster than western countries did, they need to design and develop better, smarter, cleaner and on their own terms - not neccessarily replicating western models of "democracy", consumption, social structures and the like. If they do follow our lead in those things we are all in big trouble. Look at the mess we have made of it so far.
No, China and India need to leapfrog over our technological achievements [and disasters] and forge new forms based on what has gone before. If inovation comes from combining already existing forms and ideas in new combinations to create the "new", then there are real possibilities for progress. The minds of young designers and design students from these cultures are the key. Fortunately for us, they are dead keen to do just that.
As a designer and educationalist I wanna be part of that! That's why I can't get China out of my head. That's why I can't get over it...There is no more important task.
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