I do not have a white creative saviour complex…
In this article the aim is to explore who designers really are. As a profession they have a power that many others could not imagine, with the ability to change peoples lives all over the globe. Whether that is for the better or for the worse is entirely up to the designer…
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
- Harvey Dent (Batman: The Dark Knight)
What is a designer?
The term designer is used frequently, but it is a term easier said than defined. This is one reason why it is so difficult to determine what a designer is and, by extension, what a designer does, hence the crux of this problem. The term designer is defined in several different ways depending on who you ask. Primarily the definitions are literal, however the second batch are sourced from design assosiations and begin to shed some like of what big question.
Designer (Literary):
A person who imagines how something could be made and draws plans for it
A person who devises or executes designs, especially one who creates forms, structures, and patterns, as for works of art or machines.
Design (Design Associations)
Industrial designers typically focus on the physical appearance, functionality and manufacturability of a product, though they are often involved in far more during a development cycle. All of this ultimately extends to the overall lasting value and experience a product or service provides for end-users.
Industrial Design is a strategic problem-solving process that drives innovation, builds business success, and leads to a better quality of life through innovative products, systems, services, and experiences
The overarching theme of these definitions is that a designer creates something, whether through making or drawing. Still, crucially these are actions performed prior to producing the artefact (aka a creative?). By these definitions, everyone is a designer, as Norman Potter suggested in his book ‘What Is a Designer’, but this furthers the question of what makes a professional designer if everyone can do it? This expands the confusion surrounding what a designer is and, by extension, what a designer does.
“DESIGN IS A TALISMANIC WORD with nearly infinite meanings. Design is fashion design and urban design and graphic design and product design”.
Ironically by stating design is magic akin to a talisman, this would suggest that it is a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune (the irony). However, despite this strange notion, this belief has been regrettably ingrained into design culture in the form of saviour complexes. There are many different forms of saviour complex, the most commonly discussed being a white saviour complex.
Again, it seems necessary at this point to investigate what this term is referring to. Unfortunately, it is referring to a person (who is usually white) believes they are ‘helping’ underprivileged non-white people when they are likely not.
Creative Saviour Complex
As discussed by Omayeli Arenyeka there is an immerging group of individuals suffering from a creative saviour complex, this is similar to the attributes associated with white saviour complex, centred around the belief of doing good whilst not fully considering the impact/ consequences on the group they are trying to help. Jarrett Fuller confirms this notion as he expresses that “we must move away from the designer-savior industrial complex that tells us the designer can parachute into any problem and, with some design thinking, fix it, indicating change from the top-down”. The problematic bottom line is concerned with the effect of a white creative saviour complex.
What are the symptoms?
Signs of those exhibiting a Savior Complex include:
1. A superiority complex: the belief they’re better than the people receiving their “help,” or that other people are incapable of helping themselves. This distinctly patronising belief is often rooted in racism.
2. Selfishness: the illusion they’re “helping” other people when they’re actually helping themselves.
3. A lack of consent: The work being done is happening without the consultation of the group they’re trying to help.
- Norman Potter
Designer’s Responsibility
The question I would pose to Potter is that I agree with the sentiment that designers are people. Designers are human, and yes, no one can be without weakness/ bias. However, is it not the designer’s responsibility to at least be aware of the impact their creations and artefacts may have on the group they have designed for. Unfortunately, this weakness only gives rise to the thought that some designers have lost their moral compass; designers seem to be more interested in seeking fame by exploiting their ‘problem-solving’ skills. However, there seems to finally be a belief that a ‘collective conscience’ has emerged with students of design to make a difference (transform).
After writing this piece, the unsatisfying conclusion is more questions that, at this point in time, are without answers…
How can we best involve others in this design process?
Is this proposed ‘solution’ sustainable?
Finally, if I put on my reflective practitioner cap, while trying to better understand what a designer is and does, is a centralised definition required? Does it really matter? Does every designer need to fit into confined parameters? If a definition was created, would it not be inevitable for there to be outliers? Hopefully, throughout this series of articles, the aim is not to discover an absolute finite understanding of what it is to be a designer but rather a better understanding of what kind of designer I am and what type of designer I want to avoid becoming.
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Website: https://www.bunndesigns.com/
Contact: bunn.josh@gmail.com
