What does it mean for designers if visual events prompt behavior change? That huge, right? And we all know that to an extent, things that we design impact people and cause them to change their actions—and that’s exactly why design is such a powerful thing.

But what does that mean exactly for me? When I think about it, i think of my designs as my responsibility – behaviors that i am causing to change in the world out there, in big and small ways. Actually small… very small—i don’t think I have impacted many people really. But coming from a country where fundamental needs such a food, shelter, safety are still striving to be met, maybe I just understand the word responsibility as social action and social needs—its difficult for me to understand it in a nuanced way I think. Oh and I also blame that on my Design for the Real World book, which I held on to very tightly during undergrad.

Elaine Scarry in her book, On beauty and being just—(I JUST started reading it, recommended by Suguru for my thesis) makes a thoughtful point when she says beauty prompts a copy of itself. This can mean that a visual event experienced may be reproduced as a touch or a drawing, which may be reproduced again as a visual event which may again become an acoustical event—its like that game right, Chinese whisper (as I have known it) or telephone, grapevine whatever youmacall it.

Not only do I practice that, by looking at artifacts, but I also cause it when others conceive what I design. Does that add to my responsibility then? I mean, if im gonna leave a little something behind for future generations then do i really wanna leave a perfume tester bottle holder?