A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Artisans and Designers: Seeking Fairness within Capitalism and the Gig Economy
The artisan sector is the second largest employer in the developing world and an estimated 34-to-526 billion-dollar industry (Nest 2018). Why then are the majority of the world’s artisans living in poverty? And what role have designers played in extracting money and value from these marginalized communities? Co-authored by an economist and a design educator, this paper posits that a critical and productive way to get to the bottom of these questions is to analyze the artisan sector as a member of the gig / on-demand economy. Most importantly, it proposes a fairer economic and design architecture for this sector that achieves a better alignment of compensation and value creation, particularly for those with the least economic resources (the artisans). Using several designer-founded-and-run artisan enterprises as case studies, the paper questions the key variables that determine the success of such a venture vis-a-vis artisan livelihoods. These include scale, ownership models (cooperatives vs. outsourced labor), and various social justice issues including power and privilege. A further concern is that, as they are submitted to the logic of rational economic exchange rooted in a market economy, some artisan practices that were traditionally embedded in social and cultural institutions were transformed in ways that jeopardize patrimony, traditions, and social fabric. The paper concludes by outlining economic principles for a proposed collaboration methodology through which designer/founders can frame their future work with an understanding of how they can strive to reach ventures that emphasize poverty alleviation, artisan empowerment, and the celebration/preservation of cultural heritage.
Artisans and Designers: Seeking Fairness within Capitalism and the Gig Economy
The artisan sector is the second largest employer in the developing world and an estimated 34-to-526 billion-dollar industry (Nest 2018). Why then are the majority of the world’s artisans living in poverty? And what role have designers played in extracting money and value from these marginalized communities? Co-authored by an economist and a design educator, this paper posits that a critical and productive way to get to the bottom of these questions is to analyze the artisan sector as a member of the gig / on-demand economy. Most importantly, it proposes a fairer economic and design architecture for this sector that achieves a better alignment of compensation and value creation, particularly for those with the least economic resources (the artisans). Using several designer-founded-and-run artisan enterprises as case studies, the paper questions the key variables that determine the success of such a venture vis-a-vis artisan livelihoods. These include scale, ownership models (cooperatives vs. outsourced labor), and various social justice issues including power and privilege. A further concern is that, as they are submitted to the logic of rational economic exchange rooted in a market economy, some artisan practices that were traditionally embedded in social and cultural institutions were transformed in ways that jeopardize patrimony, traditions, and social fabric. The paper concludes by outlining economic principles for a proposed collaboration methodology through which designer/founders can frame their future work with an understanding of how they can strive to reach ventures that emphasize poverty alleviation, artisan empowerment, and the celebration/preservation of cultural heritage.
Artisans and Designers: Seeking Fairness within Capitalism and the Gig Economy
Raphaële Chappe (author) / Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo (author)
2020
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
Unknown
artisan , capitalism , gig economy , inequality , design , Architecture , NA1-9428
Metadata by DOAJ is licensed under CC BY-SA 1.0
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