First Things First

It would be nice if designers had complete control over the moral decisions of a client, if a bad company had to do good things in order to have a good design agency. However, I don't know of many firms who hold this power. Unfortunately, it seems that in the design or advertising field, we work for them. The clients do not work for us. We only have the power to turn down their work or keep it. If a good designer turns their work down through a moral decision, there's one standing right behind them ready and eager to take it, so does the company learn a lesson? Probably not. The article asks what would happen if the best designers withdraw from advertising in Times Square, a center of commercialization fighting for attention in an overwhelming mess of flashiness. I think there are plenty of good designers who would take their places, seeing how only 22 people originally signed the manifesto. There are plenty of ad agencies who would be thrilled to have Walmart as a client. And Walmart has the power to drop you whenever they see a better deal. Walmart does not promote good design in their products, but for some reason, some of the best agencies would fight for their business.

For businesses who stand by what they believe in, I support them for turning down companies they do not support. I would love to avoid working in the corporate world of design. However, I don't know what type of clients to expect at this point.