AIGA is publishing this vital reflection on the power of design because David Berman understands – and communicates with such intensity, sincerity, and clarity – that creativity has the potential not only to defeat habit, but also to affect positive change.
AIGA’s connection with David’s indomitable esprit and steadfast commitment to social principles occurred when he brought to my attention the environmental and social standards he had advocated for Canadian designers. Milton Glaser, who has long had a similar commitment to the responsibilities of designers, joined me in adapting AIGA’s standards of professional practices to David’s language, adding the responsibilities that a designer has to his or her audience. Now, David’s perspective is at the core of the designer’s ethos in North America.
“This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire, but it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.” | ||
| --EDWARD R. MURROW (1908-1965) March 15, 1954 speaking about television | ||
In 2008, AIGA China published the standards in Chinese, where there are one million students just beginning their design careers, and these standards are the only expression of professional expectations.
Margaret Mead had it right: “Never doubt that a few committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” Let’s see what David’s very public statement, this book, can do to change our expectations.
Creativity can defeat habit. And we are counting on it.
Richard Grefé is executive director of AIGA, the professional association for design in the United States.