#galleryyuhself/ethics

[galleryyuhself]

Galleryyuhself - The First of possibly many for this year.

[galleryyuhself]

~Galleryyuhself~ In this present time  fake news and misleading opinions rule the world. A look at exactly what some of the design rules should be must be looked at.

[galleryyuhself]

~Galleryyuhself~ What!

[galleryyuhself]

~Galleryyuhself~ All done on a solar powered website.

[galleryyuhself]

~Galleryyuhself~ The best part of our covid-19 lives is the sharp RE_THINKING going on in the world.

[galleryyuhself]

~Galleryyuhself~ If you have been seeing these recently, then this article shall interest you.

[galleryyuhself]

Design NOW

Today, I look at the landscape of local products, manufacturers and services against the appetite of the world at large. I often take into account the way our local businesses sell  customers to us through Facebook, Instagram, Newspapers, Radio and more. Just observing can leave me more concerned than encouraged when I ask, how does the young designer working in Trinidad and Tobago today make a contribution to our desire to sell products while also being socially and environmentally responsible?When I taught Graphic Design at John S Donaldson Technical Institute (now University of Trinidad and Tobago UTT) one of the things that challenged me was the realization of being one of the Lecturers tasked with making great Designers for the world of work. 

Tasked with disseminating knowledge, colleagues Valmiki Ramcharan, Elizabeth French, Reginald Cox and I were always bringing into the curriculum the question of designing with a conscience. Way before the diagnosis on climate change, we would make our students aware that there was no such thing as designing in a vacuum. To design anything for anyone, one must ask pivotal questions. Who is it for? What advantages and disadvantages are known to assist in better design? Why design and for what function? 

It is easy to feel as though leaving school with your papers in hand and getting a job does not give you power to decide what can be done to make designing processes better. You are asked to know Design Software packages; Photography; some Printmaking; some Art History; write a Thesis and to create a  Portfolio. Yet, armed with that information, can a young designer impact the industry?  Particularly when not much is known about the needs, wants and bottom line of said industries?

Some may argue that the designer does not have to know any of that? This is what the agency executives are to know. The Designer is reduced to the active worker bee churning out a quarter page advertisement for BOGO shoes or Spaghetti for Eve products. Very quickly it becomes clear that creative design thinking is not required. The young designer feels as though they were never in the loop, only in the execution of the product needed to keep the industrial complex going. 

However, I would like to posit a possibility to that  young designer today.  So often when I speak with students, they tell me that family and friends  always ask them quite seriously, what do they do? Why study Graphic Design? They all know how to answer. Everything you see has been designed. Yet, how much of what you see is designed in Trinidad and Tobago? What of the things that you see that are done here, are user friendly? Let us take a look.

Trinidad and Tobago’s business community is made up of a few manufacturers and mostly distributors of foreign goods. We import a great deal of our needs and wants. Very quickly it is clear that our societal demands are all about comfort and sophistication, from cars to fast foods. The young designer today is creating content to keep these wants in a context. Local products take on a feel of their own and foreign products keep in line with their international appeal. What is the designer to do? Know the market, the basics of selling to the customer, the taste range of products and  the user. In some ways, take an algorithmic temperature of the push and the pull of consumption on the islands. Observe the ways people purchase things and why. To be a designer today is to be on top of social media, the language of viral videos, fake news and the emoji. However the biggest learning curve comes from knowing  the end point to consumption. What is the shelf life of products you design? 

How are they collected when they come to their obvious decline? What recycling facilities do we have to dispense with our treasures that are now trash? Does the company you did that label for  use a one use plastic product? These are the conversations that young designers have to be part of right now. 

All products end up in a landfill at some point. We can no longer pretend that clogged waterways are not a product of our collective use of consumed items. We are all part of the answer to a very devastating world problem and we are fortunate that we can do many things right now to make things better, one design at a time. Have the conversation and make the change NOW.

[galleryyuhself]

~Galleryyuhself~ Good news

[galleryyuhself]

Certifying as a B Corporation goes beyond product- or service-level certification. B Corp Certification is the only certification that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance. The B Impact Assessment evaluates how your company’s operations and business model impact your workers, community, environment, and customers. From your supply chain and input materials to your charitable giving and employee benefits, B Corp Certification proves your business is meeting the highest standards of verified performance.

Positive impact is supported by transparency and accountability requirements. B Corp Certification doesn’t just prove where your company excels now—it commits you to consider stakeholder impact for the long term by building it into your company’s legal structure.

[galleryyuhself]

~Galleryyuhself~~More than ever the future is what we do NOW. I have never felt more aware of that. We cannot afford our lifestyles, no matter where we stand financially. It is easy to believe that one person cannot make a difference, but squabbling about who can is not only unhelpful, it is dangerous. What can I do, you do, we do at this very moment to change the way we consume and even the ways we work? This question is a human race one, and one that I shall continue to press answers for on this Tumblr and elsewhere. (@)

[galleryyuhself]

~Galleryyuhself~ Don’t do things you have to apologize for. The world knows now to act with their dollar.

                    ...............................................................................

State of this Nation Yum! Brands USA parent owner of KFC franchise please address Trinidad and Tobago franchise holder Prestige Holdings Limited (PHL)KFC Trinidad and Tobago statement tonight on their insensitive use of coded images and copy in there advertisement for African Slavery Emancipation.

They have damaged your brand locally and internationally. Is this the strongest ethitical and equatable crisis management response? TT KFC franchise owners Prestige Holdings Limited (PHL) must be contacted and this matter investigated and corrected.

This issue will go international to all international media and business ethics reviewers for action. Examples of current Yum! Brands policies on the subject are noted

 https://www.facebook.com/350934764279/posts/10158303030824280/?app=fblhttp://citizenship.yum.com/people/people-dashboard.asp