The soicial functions of design and public design - Research Paper Example

A growing number of organizations, especially in the public sector; this across Western societies, are constantly seeking out innovations in the sphere of public design and design in general. The resultant effects of the global financial crisis have thrown many governments and their respective administrations into immense challenging situations. Every society has its own culture and traditional practices that make it unique. The cultural practices of different societies, in the world, are made and challenged by social groups depending on their benefit or detriment.

Design and public design is one of the ways through which the process of constructing and challenging cultural issues. for instance, graphic design communicates the cultural and social beliefs that are practiced by political and economic groups and the society, at large. It is part and parcel of a process where beliefs and values are changed and transferred from one place to another. It does this in order to teach people new cultures and ways of doing things that are practiced in other societies.

Design has a social role because it serves to change the beliefs and mindsets that people have about certain issues of life. In this case, change means the altering or transforming of beliefs and attitudes that affect people. For example, graphic design is a manifestation of the cultures that exist in different societies. Through design, people reproduce social power and imbalances, ways of communication and ideologies challenged or supported by people. Design amplifies and controls communication through publicizing messages without having to publish them.

Design is a form of communication that travels through the world collecting and passing information about cultures and ways of interaction through criticism and viewpoints. For example, during the 1979 elections in Britain Graphic design was a radical and a driving force for social change through the support of right wing party ascension towards government. Design has been as a force that forges resistance to social order and authority that are discriminative upon the people (Ellis, 2010). Design and public design are also important to the society in the sense that it constructs and reconstructs racial and gender identities among societies.

Race and gender are artificial concepts that are formulated in the mindsets of people and are beyond biological differences between people. Race and gender concepts are created and created and communicated through aspects, such as design and public design. This is because design travels throughout the world without difficulties. It communicates sociological concepts throughout the world without distinguishing distance, time or space. This way, they create social identities that are translated into beliefs held by people (Richard, 1990).

Most European countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece, just to name but a few have faced bankruptcy for some time. This has necessitated, due to the tremendous pressure present, a dramatic shift towards reforming the public sector, including pension systems among others. Even those governments in less dire situations are also undertaking similar if not as radical measures as their counterparts. Examples include the United Kingdom’s introduction, through its coalition government; the notion of ‘Big Society’