What is it to be Modern in the 21st Century? (Part 3)

Relevance.

An article on Brand Channel (1) states: "Balancing global brand integrity with local cultural authenticity is perhaps the greatest challenge global brands face today". This problem is known, atleast by now. What struck me though, was the necessity of finding a balance between the two. Can a balance be attained between the graphic design aspirations of the 21^st century — that which is often a mere aesthetic choice of designers today (2) — and between the vernacular, i.e. the everyday language of the people? The vernacular may not necessarily be just the visual language that is often referred as "kitsch".

The pursuit of creating culturally relevant (3) design solutions must be held at the forefront of all design decisions, when design touches at a local level first and maintains a global outlook. Focusing on the finer details, while keeping the big picture in mind.

Should the subject in question hence be rephrased as "what is it to be relevant in the 21st century?".

... to be continued

1. From the brandchannel article: Brand chaos on the web
2. If I were to consider the "International Style" or the "Neue Graphik" to be one of the key basis on which lay the foundations of modern graphic design. With reference to the influences of Josef Muller-Brockmann, Richard Paul Lohse, Hans Neuburg, Carlo Vivarelli, Wolfgang Weingart, Emil Ruder, Karl Gerstner.
3. 'A culture is the system of shared beliefs, values, customer, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning'. -- From Global Brand Culture (pdf) By Jonas Bergvall & Ray Podder.


Previous entires in this topic:
— What is it to be Modern in the 21st Century? Part 1
— What is it to be Modern in the 21st Century? Part 2
— What is it to be Modern in the 21st Century? Part 2 - Postscript