Leida

Production entails power relations that are both hidden and material. One could even say that production is power – power over the material, cultural and social environment. This power is shared and contested by both producer and consumer, capital and state, as well as material and idea. Social benefits in production systems do not always equate to economic success, and in the neoliberal system these are often contradictory concepts. On the one hand, the material provides the original inspiration for the object, but on the other hand, it also sets the limiting framework through its physical and economic constraints. The role of the designer in these power relations is variable, depending on the specific moment in time, place, person and situation. Looking into the past, we see these variations particularly clearly in the changing role of the designer. While the industrial artist of the 19th century designed primarily ornaments, the designer of the 20th century was already responsible for conceiving the form. Today, in the 21st century, designing services, processes and systems has also become part of the designer’s function.

Leida’s fifth edition is dedicated to production as a stubborn compromise between different schools of thought, possibilities, interests and parties. This stubbornness may be identified in the attitudes and perspectives of all the parties involved, and it can be either a progressive or a conservative force. On the one hand, there is a stubborn desire in design to move forward… while on the other hand, the already established infrastructure and production systems persistently hold the field back. For the designer’s idea to become a product, it is necessary to find the appropriate form and function, and then to combine them with suitable materials and manufacturing capabilities. Even though the global consumer culture may leave us with the erroneous impression that every material or immaterial desire should be immediately satisfied, physical conditions impose their own limitations. We may not recognize, for example, to what extent the availability of suitable materials depends on the political or climatological environment. Even cultural habits set boundaries to the designer’s ideas. However, the increasing environmental problems and global inequality also raise questions about the ethicality of this compromise.

In the light of the environmental crises of the 21st century, mass production has become a taboo subject among the more design-conscious audience, and preference is given to small-scale and distributed production. Nonetheless, on a global scale, these alternatives, which are often more expensive than mass production, are only available to a privileged few. It is difficult to confront the already established economic and social habits, backed up by both real and virtual infrastructures. In addition to the garbage patches and millions of tons of already existing objects, these systems also need reorganization and designer intervention. There are approximately 8.2 billion people living in the world while I am writing this foreword. Although the design field is now more and more focused on being planet-centered and posthuman, instead of human-centered and user-centered, it is also evident that these 8.2 billion people need to have their basic needs met, which means mass production cannot be ignored.

On the one hand, having an economic approach to the use of human and material resources to satisfy basic needs has been a pragmatic necessity throughout history in different societies. On the other hand, humans are known for producing ‘useless’ things. It is not easy to define our needs and the ‘benefits’ that these objects might provide us with. Various products fulfil not only a utilitarian function in our lives, but also social, political, aesthetic... The list may go on and on. At the same time, manufacturing is not only a philosophical, but also an analytical and manual activity. The product stems as much from the source material and skills as of the designer’s idea or socio-political impulse. This idea is also reflected in the design of the current issue of the magazine: Leida’s designers, master’s students of graphic design in the Estonian Academy of Art Haron Barashed and Fernanda Saval, have taken into focus the sketch as the beginning of an idea, while also hinting at the materiality, fragility and adaptability of sketching as an activity.

In the opening article, architect and lecturer of service design Jörn Frenzel discusses the complex relationships of contemporary design and production and offers ways to incorporate these nuances into design education. Focusing on the role of material, design researcher Lilo Viehweg calls into question the positivist approach to technology prevalent in the 20th century, introducing the complex and to a large extent still unexplored history of piezoelectric crystals. Product designer Linda-Maria Varris has also dedicated herself to marginalized histories in design, examining the role of stigma and taboo in the production of menstrual supplies. Designer and design researcher Nesli Hazal Oktay talks about sensory mapping, seeing it as an opportunity to add more materiality and tactility into design education. Art and design historian Lijana Natalevičienė looks back to the early 20th century, considering the role of mass-produced crafts as a tool of political power, looking into the matter through the examples of Lithuania and Estonia. Artists Gary Markle and Laura Põld discuss ways one can adapt their artistic practice to survive in today’s neoliberal world. Shifting the focus from small-scale production to industrial replication, industrial designers Björn Koop and Lauri Hirvesaar reflect on their profession from both a personal and global perspective. Graphic designer Kert Viiart examines in his visual essay the life cycle of plastic as a material, focusing on the environmental impact of human activities and production. As design moves gradually further and further from production as a purely material phenomenon, the doctoral students and creative researchers of the Estonian Academy of Arts Eva Liisa Kubinyi, Marta Konovalov, Jane Remm and Kadri Liis Rääk ask whether it is possible to be a designer or an artist without adding anything tangible to the world.

In a way, throughout the history of humanity people have strived to find compromises between the speed, price and quality of production, while aiming to increase quantity. However, our desires come at a price. In order not only to pay this price, but also to reduce it, we need to change both our expectations and the products that fulfil our needs. The authors of the current issue of Leida look into the processes surrounding production, the consequences of these processes, and the role of the designer in this stubborn system.