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CAPS LOCK: How Capitalism Took Hold of Graphic Design, and How to Escape from It by Ruben Pater
frogwithlittlehammer's review
informative
reflective
4.75
WOW now that’s what I call design. I don’t mean that aesthetically. I just mean, I finally understand what design is, and why it has always spoken to me even though I’m a person of little taste or skills for the visual.
Design and language are what makes the world go round, and also are, in my opinion, the two biggest industries that have transformed the world to the current mess of affairs it is today. It’s not tech, it’s not economics, not even psychology. Design and language are the most rudimentary forms of communication, that have frankensteined to unbelievably far-reaching proportions—building borders, widening wealth disparities, invoking international conflicts, swaying elections, accelerating surveillance, deepening the nature of business ontology and therefore essentializing the guys circle jerking in advertising… AND A LOT MORE (evidently they have created a breed of downright narcissists as well, if the inflated sense of self importance wasn’t clear already.)
I deeply enjoyed the first couple parts of the book, about the history of design, and how it has always been a mode of documenting (largely in an exclusionary and classist manner) and scribing and claiming boundaries. It is a big impetus for the transition into credit, the differentiating between legal and “illegal” nationals, the creation of the creative class (and precariats), of course commodity fetishism, and basically invented the idea of tourism. Yeah, there were other large players that contributed to all of the above listed paradigm shifts, but you really do have to admit that communication through images (design) and words (language) are at the foundation.
As the book progressed, the editing errors amassed and the books became more tailored for designers; what they can do to combat capitalism, firms they can be inspired by, how designers can utilize hacking, how unique and difficult (haha ok) of a time that designers have as laborers. But even these sections made me reflect about man’s lot in life, so much so that I read a bit of Ecclesiastes to really get the noggin churning.
Anyway, really great collection of images, logos, campaigns, quotes, thinkers, thoughts, etc., which made for a really digestible and digestive reading experience. I am intrigued by other design theory books, as the few I have read have my full marks. They also make me feel like a modern girl, can’t explain why!
noitsjustnate's review
3.0
Ruben Pater nailed the visuals in this book. It was vigorously illustrated, with a lot of attention towards font hierarchies and image selection. It’s a deceptively short read as the thickness accounts for such a large amount of images and references which really helped navigate each of Pater’s topics and points. The full page images were strong anchors, along with several juxtapositions of images which were very thought provoking.
The main problem I had was with the amount of topics, speaking points and conclusions. The writing got pretty redundant towards the middle and though Pater dug into each topic thoroughly it didn’t leave much room for a coherent conclusion for each part. Thus the author couldn’t expand on some really complex ideas quoted by the likes of Ivan Illich, Sylvia Federici, and Hito Steyerl, among many others. It risked over-simplifying. The repeated call to actions would have been more effective if saved for a stronger conclusion rather than broken into many sections. Pater also saved some pretty bold claims for these conclusions which couldn’t be fully explained or were not explicitly mentioned. The momentum was also broken up with the introduction of each new topic, in which the author would do a sort of history crash course of said topic. That repetitive outline didn’t do the design of the book justice.
Nevertheless the main motif of the book was a really effective provocation. Since each chapter resulted in the discussion of a sort of “commons,” Pater was able to develop that discussion fully, which resulted in a conclusion more effective than the individual parts.
I hope to come back to this book for its all sorts of references to art, photography, activism and protest, and will certainly take inspiration from Ruben Pater’s attention to the books’ design.
The main problem I had was with the amount of topics, speaking points and conclusions. The writing got pretty redundant towards the middle and though Pater dug into each topic thoroughly it didn’t leave much room for a coherent conclusion for each part. Thus the author couldn’t expand on some really complex ideas quoted by the likes of Ivan Illich, Sylvia Federici, and Hito Steyerl, among many others. It risked over-simplifying. The repeated call to actions would have been more effective if saved for a stronger conclusion rather than broken into many sections. Pater also saved some pretty bold claims for these conclusions which couldn’t be fully explained or were not explicitly mentioned. The momentum was also broken up with the introduction of each new topic, in which the author would do a sort of history crash course of said topic. That repetitive outline didn’t do the design of the book justice.
Nevertheless the main motif of the book was a really effective provocation. Since each chapter resulted in the discussion of a sort of “commons,” Pater was able to develop that discussion fully, which resulted in a conclusion more effective than the individual parts.
I hope to come back to this book for its all sorts of references to art, photography, activism and protest, and will certainly take inspiration from Ruben Pater’s attention to the books’ design.
ericfheiman's review
5.0
Necessary, sobering, depressing, but ultimately inspiring reading. Unwinding the scabrous systems capitalism has embedded in society will be a Herculean task. But credit to this book for both making me understand them better—and then actually making me think an unwinding just might be possible.
swordvampire's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
In all seriousness, CAPSLOCK was a very solid read; Pater covered a lot across multiple topics to better contextualize the impact of graphic design historically, especially to illustrate how it diverts attention from the evils of bureaucracy and western imperialism throughout history. It demonstrated the performative nature of design advocacy and design thinking as systems used by designers today, as well as providing alternatives. Think examples and interviews from design collectives and using specific design projects to demonstrate how design can be wielded.
All that to say, a book critiquing capitalism that heavily quotes Marx (and the Communist Manifesto itself) as frequently but barely discusses communism outside a brief comment on how it has failed was rather odd. It just felt like the book was missing something without it, and doesn't touch much (if at all) on design work done in Asia, Africa, or Eastern Europe. I think this is an oversight of a book that so heavily critiques capitalism and Western involvement in other countries.
I got a lot out of this read, but it does leave me wanting to read further on the sources it quoted to further expand my thoughts. This would be an interesting read within the academic spaces of Graphic Design since it introduces a lot of ideas that could allow students to expand their approach to the creative process, and makes for a better think piece on how to use design for social causes than the current curriculum.
All that to say, a book critiquing capitalism that heavily quotes Marx (and the Communist Manifesto itself) as frequently but barely discusses communism outside a brief comment on how it has failed was rather odd. It just felt like the book was missing something without it, and doesn't touch much (if at all) on design work done in Asia, Africa, or Eastern Europe. I think this is an oversight of a book that so heavily critiques capitalism and Western involvement in other countries.
I got a lot out of this read, but it does leave me wanting to read further on the sources it quoted to further expand my thoughts. This would be an interesting read within the academic spaces of Graphic Design since it introduces a lot of ideas that could allow students to expand their approach to the creative process, and makes for a better think piece on how to use design for social causes than the current curriculum.