History repeats itself at the end of every academic year. An overwhelming number of design graduates are released into the wild and are suddenly faced with a series of intimidating decisions that could lay the foundations of their professional lives. No pressure.
Finally it’s time to exercise those long-practiced skills and get money for it. Too bad internships are too often unpaid, secure jobs are rare to find and opening your own studio is a bureaucratic nightmare… Ufff it’s exciting, it’s overwhelming, it’s tiring. And beyond the need to ensure financial support, what about those newly acquired ideals and dreams for the future of this industry and your contribution to it? Do they have a voice in this decision? And what about your lust for notoriety? Surely you want everyone to know your name, and to see it stamped on the bottom of 50 000 pressed metal serving trays, right?
The good, the bad and the anonymous is an interactive narrative piece that aims to put you in the shoes of a design graduate and see how far you get. The decisions you make and their consequences are all on you.
author
This is a contribution by a couple of projektado members, supported by open collective discussions and feedback from the rest of the projektado collective. The decision to not individually name the authors is to take clear distance from the overwhelming presence of individualistic and self serving practices in design today, and instead focus on the role of collective action and shared values.
Whilst we maintain at times contrasting individual and personal opinions, styles and approaches, we all understand that our production is part of a discussion we share and that is motivated by a collective goal, and that therefore, we all feel represented by.
first published for projektado magazine issue 1: anonymity in design / may 2021
