‘The Designer as Author’ (1996)

In the first part of his essay, he talks about the term authorship and how it has affected both the reader and the author. The term “auteur” was established to describe the work of filmmakers, and this title has changed how we look at it. In this article, Rock talks about how this title can be applied to graphic design, and how it can alter the way we look at work.

The connection between Graphic Design and authorship is easily made as it allows one to express themselves through a project instead of following someone else’s instructions.

What I found most interesting about the article is the connection Michael Rock makes between writing and designing. The idea of a (Graphic) Designer being an author adds a much bigger value to his work.

His wider ideas on ‘design authorship’ relate to interior design in how is all about authorship especially nowadays with our modern technology. Things can be produced in equal beauty and quality by a machine but cannot be attributed with the signature of a person and reflect their way of thinking and processing.

"But while theories of graphic authorship may change the way work is made, the primary concern of both the viewer and the critic is not who made it, but rather what it does and how it does it."

WEEK 2: The emergence of the interior design

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