Walking the Tightrope: Comments on Graphic Design in South Africa

摘要

The necessity for post-apartheid South Africa to establish and develop local markets, compete in the global marketplace, and meet the requirements of social reconstruction and development afforded opportunities to review and reassess the role of design in the country. In the early-1990s, coinciding with the start of the post-apartheid period, design commentators Kurlansky and Oosthuizen envisaged a significant economic and social role for design, as well as new demands for design skills. Both present design as a powerful national resource. Oosthuizen called for "a new design order" based on a holistic and integrated vision of design purposes. This perception acknowledged the pivotal position of design in society, and its utilitarian and sign functions. It emphasized the need to foster the development of a South African design culture that combines global trends with the essential and differentiating qualities of Africa, and it elaborated on the idea of a design imperative in crafting a competitive edge for South Africa in both the national and international arenas.