To Design is to Persuade
I read a book my senior year in high school for English class, it was titled Everything’s an Argument. Maybe you read it too. The concept in it’s small title began to make me wonder as I continued to study the world of rhetoric and communication. I asked myself simple facts, “Does the sky argue that it’s blue to me?” “Do I argue something to others in choosing to wear certain articles of clothing and not others”, “Is my environment, setting, or city arguing something to me and how I should be living?”
I then went on to study communications for my undergrad. One topic of study brought this concept into the spotlight once again. The topic was the use of symbols in everyday living- like the pedestrian/hand sign on crosswalks, green and red lights, the recycle sign on your coffee cup, a fire hydrant, the design on a door to notify you it is meant to be pushed, not pulled. All of these simple modes are saying something, without really saying anything. They argue, they tell, and they mean something and they are everywhere. This idea, that everything in it of itself is a means of saying something, persuading us to behave a certain way or perceive something a certain way, fascinated me and altered my way of viewing communication and the role it plays in society and life. Communication is the root, the foundation, it’s everything. There’s only input and output, feedback. By nature, communication and perception, are composed of little arguments.
Besides the definition of an argument being a means of settling a dispute, it is defined as something broader.
By this definition from Google dictionary, everything is an argument. Everything we perceive as reality- known, unknown, fact- is an argument sent to our brains through perception, and then solidified by the stories that others have told us, or concepts, by which we determine things to be true and false, good and bad, fun or not fun. Through this cycle (which happens every second of a persons existence), society is acquiring a set order of boundaries and means of constructing reality, requiring each individual to form his or her role inside this “fenced-in-reality” that has been constructed for us and by us.
This fall, I started my masters in strategic communication design. I began to see the responsibility that designers have as members who construct foundational pieces of communication in society. Designers play a crucial role in the cultivation of these preconceived, societal ideas. For example, the way a city is designed- its skyline, how it transports its citizens, its nightlife, cuisine, parks and benches within those parks, its cultural influences- all of these things are designed for a purpose and with the intention of complimenting the current nature of its city and citizens. The Obama Campaign, the Nazi propaganda, the American flag. All of these things, subtle or not, are telling you something about how to behave, how to think, how to live, imagine, create, interact, sit, stand, walk, breathe and be. They all communicate something; no matter how subtle, they persuade. As designers, we are welcomed into a very important role in society; we are creating persuasive means of influencing human behavior and constructing the realities all around us. Like politics, but not as broadcasted.
With this, I believe that it is intention that allows a design to fulfill its vision. What, how, and why is this design a complimentary piece to my culture, society, species? Metaphorically speaking, a designer needs to know the root before they plant. Planting a random root is a game of chance, what it bears no one will know until it is finished growing. To know the root though, than one has already seen the final product- what it means. The designs that will be remembered are the ones that were built on established roots. It should be an argument you believe in and convicted that others should believe as well. Your argument, what you want people to believe when interacting with your design- your root- determines what will grow out of it upon development and how strong of a design you have as it faces the test of time.
Ideally, intentional philosophy behind all workforces creates a more beautiful society. Design though, may hold a higher influence in the means of which a society constructs its realities and concepts, and so this root of intention is even more important. To be a designer with a vision, you need intention; to accomplish your vision, you need to be a master editor, analyzer, researcher, observer, listener, persuader, and problem-solver. On your next project, question everything. The font, color, audience, goal, proportions, sound, point of view, word choice, adjectives, punctuation- everything. Ask your peers, what is it saying? Than, listen. Listen with intent. Edit, problem-solve, and design again. Everything matters, everything communicates, everything argues something- intend for it to argue your vision.
