Savādās vīzijas. Kritisko teoriju un prakšu evolūcija dizainā

During the last couple of decades, a practice called “critical design” has been increasingly gaining attention within academic and research circles. Its representatives develop strange visions of a future of alternative realities, which they materialise using design predominantly as a medium for transferring information. These designers aim to provoke people and make them critically reconsider their current lifestyles, values and behaviour. However, this phenomenon is not something entirely new. In the history of design there have always been designers who have clearly shown a critical attitude towards this discipline as well as their own position within it. Some of them have applied radically different approaches that have led them to revolutionary discoveries, while others – in reaction against the consumerist culture – have refused to design commercial products at all, and instead have sought to use the language of design to express critique. This article is intended as an overview of various critical practices throughout the history of design. It also frames the processes on the Latvian design scene within the critical design movement in the world.