“I believe that, with the rapid advancement of technology, the sense of human scale is often lost. Figures and statistics become more important than people. This can prove disastrous in political life — something we are at present experiencing in the Western world. In this climate of monetarism and the worship of modern technology, where more and more decisions rely upon computers, there is an urgent need for individual voices which speak up for the individual.
The function of graphic artists and designers is similar to that of journalists. They are responsible for informing and educating a large public, using a language which is direct and unambiguous, yet charged with strong beliefs and convictions. Paradoxical? Maybe — but needed in an atmosphere of anonymity, where most graphics can be reduced to mere packaging and empty decoration, perfect in technical execution but nothing beyond that. There are strong traditions in the not-too-distant past to turn to for inspiration: designers of the calibre of Cassandre, for example, whose laconic concepts were executed with tremendous flair. His posters sang out in the streets.
This flair and dynamism in execution accompanied by an intellectual poignancy is sadly missing in much of the graphic design work that we see today. Designers all too often look to fashion and popular trends, re-shaping their bag of graphic tricks accordingly. What is lacking is the weight, both intellectual and spiritual, to the visual messages that designers are communicating to the public.”
— Andrzej Klimowski