Grafik Tasarım Eğitiminde Görme Engelliler İçin Sosyal Sorumluluk Tasarımı

Introduction Social responsibility can be considered the duty for all individuals and administrators in a society to support economic, environmental, cultural and social developments in order to improve the quality of life and sustainability of resources (Paksoy, 2014; Aktan 2014). Societal responsibility, public responsibility, and corporate social responsibility are expressions used in academic literature and international organizations to express similar concerns (Yamak, 2007). The first discussions of the concept and practice of corporate social responsibility took place in Europe. The concept was later developed in North America. In the United States of America, discussions regarding social responsibility started with an economic crisis, known as the Great Depression, in 1930’s. Later, Howard Bowen laid down the theoretical foundations of the social responsibility concept in his book, Social Responsibility of Businessman, which was published in 1953 (Bowen, 2005). In the 1960’s, not only in the United States, but also in many countries around the world, the social responsibility concept became an important topic in business, law, politics, and economic theories and practices (Lembet, 2014). The social responsibility concept in design came about as a reflection of the productionconsumption relations which were developed and shaped through the Industrial Revolution. The first industrial products lacked aesthetic appearance; however, soon a new approach to combine aesthetic and functional characteristics of the products emerged. This lead to design arts. Later, “meeting the demands and expectations of the consumer society” became the main approach for designers, going against the social responsibility and sustainability concepts. This fact bothered some designers, and they expressed their concerns that the designers were becoming servants of the consumer society and that they were neglecting their social responsibilities toward all parts of society (Garland 1964; GMK, 2002). This concern was shared among most designers. This led to the social responsibility concept in design. This coincides with the development of social responsibility approaches of the 1960’s. Among the leading designers to emphasize the importance of social responsibility in design, Ken Garland published a manifesto titled “First Things First” in 1964. The manifesto has kept its effect and importance and was updated in 1999 and 2014 with the support of many designers. Designer Richard Buckminster Fuller (Fuller, 2014) and Victor Papanek claimed that the design has become the slave of a consumer society and devoid of ethics. In addition to Fuller and Papanek, Whiteley (1993), Manzini (2002), and Thackara (2005), as well as other design philosophers, upheld the social responsibility concept in design and expressed the importance of the matter. In his 2002 (2005) book titled Design, John Heskett asked whether the designers should be technocrats, offering their skills and services to those who offer the most lucrative business deals without any other considerations, or, should they take social and environmental concerns into account in every design work they undertake (Hesket, 2013, 193- 194). As it was developed, the movement of social responsibility in design led to an approach of all-inclusive, all-embracing design. Universal design and design for all have become common expressions. The concept of social responsibility in design attempts to achieve a better quality of life for all strata of society (advantaged, as well as disadvantaged groups) and for all individuals as a result of the design. The social responsibility concept and the universal design (design for all and all-embracing design) approach are becoming important in design education and training. As in every field and level of education, social responsibility awareness should be given to the designers of the future. This will assure the improvement and sustainability of modern design goals and universal measures. As the universal design concept gets more attention, the visually impaired should not be left out of the picture. As the right for equal opportunity and freedom of information require, the visually impaired must be considered in the design process so that the quality of their daily life is improved. According to the World Disability Report of 2011 (WHO, 2011), about 10 percent of the world’s population have some kind of disability, and about 162 million of them are visually impaired. A 2002 study by the Directorate of the Administration for the Disabled and State Statistics Institute indicates that there are 77,000 visually disabled people living in Turkey (ntvmsnbc, 2002; Türkiye Engelliler Araştırması Temel Göstergeleri, 2010). This number increased to 216,077 by 2012, according to the National Disabled Database, maintained by the Ministry of Family and Social Policies (SGK, 2012). With such a large increase in the number of the visually impaired, graphic communication design for the visually impaired is considered important, because it holds the ability to make their daily life easier and better. Designs for the visually impaired could include the use of the Braille alphabet, embossed figures, large-sized text, and color contrasts. There are few examples of graphic design for the visually impaired in Turkey, or in the world. The Braille alphabet is only used on some packages and labels of some products. There are also few social responsibility projects aimed at the visually impaired. Unfortunately, curriculums for graphic design departments lack design courses for the visually impaired. The few social responsibility courses or projects are insufficient to meet the need within the visually impaired community. As in all branches of design, in graphic design and in graphic design education, the basic approach should be to meet the needs of all humans, including the disabled ones. Any designed product is meant to serve human beings and to advance human life. In principle, no disadvantaged group should be left out. This principle should be adhered to by all designers, design educators, and design students. Method A survey was administered by researcher to determine the graphic design work that has been produced for the visually impaired. Within the frame of social responsibility, graphic design education approaches toward the visually impaired were studied. The curricula of the graphics, graphic design, visual communication design, and communication design departments of 37 universities in Turkey that recruit students with a special skills exam have been studied in order to determine whether there are any courses focusing on design for the visually impaired. Among the curricula, the existence of courses or projects regarding social responsibility concepts has also been investigated. The course contents of these departments belonging to 20 states and 17 private universities have been compared on-line. Based on the search, departments belonging to private universities have more courses on the social responsibility concept than the departments of state universities. However, none of the courses focused on design for the visually impaired.Discussion and Conclusions In principle, any design product is meant to serve human beings and to advance human life. Within the frame of social responsibility, a designer should keep this in mind when designing a product. The designed product should serve all, including disabled people, and improve the quality of life for all. This is the origin of the social responsibility concept in design. The graphic design field is not exempt from this principle. Graphic design, visual communication design, or similar departments in Turkey lack courses on social responsibility in design. There are no courses on the design approaches for the visually impaired. Some curricula include social responsibility courses or projects, yet the contents have no reference to disabled people. The departments of private universities have more courses regarding social responsibility than the departments of state universities. A few graphic design products were created within the corporate social responsibility frame and by some individual efforts. Some steps should be taken to improve the acceptance and spread of social responsibility and universal design concepts in graphic product design and graphic design education in Turkey. One step to spread the concept of design for the visually impaired could be an emphasis on tactual graphic design. In addition to the Braille alphabet that is already used on some packages, labels, books, information signs, business cards, pamphlets, tickets, and letterheads, some tactual graphics could be designed so that the visually impaired could touch and sense the message. Another step could be inclusion of the tactual graphic design or graphic design for the visually impaired courses in the curricula of the graphics, graphic design, visual communication design, and communication design departments. A third step could be undertaking some projects to discover design possibilities for the visually impaired and to raise awareness of the concept on the part of the instructors as well as students. With the support of public and private institutions, such projects could reduce the communication problems visually impaired individuals face on a daily basis. Yet another step could be the organization of scientific meetings regarding social responsibility in design and universal design, including the design for the visually impaired. Additionally, competitions could be organized for graphic product designs aimed toward visually impaired users.