Heller: Why do you hate design?
Valicenti: As much as I delight in the presence of great design in my life and community, I feel so violated by the shit that is everywhere; bad design seems to ooze into the culture at every turn. This is the design I hate, as it is a reflection of such scant respect for those who must be in contact with it. At the core of design's practice is the virtue of respect—for the process, for the craft, and for the message-making and distribution. There are only three types of messages designers are invited to help express: messages of value, messages about value, and messages of no value. Only two are really worth our time and passion, but the pressures of commerce and life encourage us to be less discerning as to where we practice design. And it is this circumstance that I also hold in contempt. Design has the means to be a healing, one-to-one exchange and be a rewarding medium that enhances, not contaminates, one's quality of life.
Moral values remain true. Value in a marketplace may change. Certain artifacts have less value than they did decades ago. The value of skills evolves—just as skills themselves evolves. The key thing is for design to be "a healing, one-to-one exchange," even as the medium changes.
The links are to 2006, but the message still works.
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If you can find a live link to WildLuV, the design collaborative, post it!
