Journal

Short weekly reflections on design, making and craft.

Authorship

Authorship is revealing, suggesting where and how something is created. More significantly however, it expresses exactly who created it — attribution.

Yet as most contemporary objects are mass produced, these details are often omitted. Many individuals are required to bring a mass-produced product to market, and to acknowledge them all is simply impractical.

However, it also reflects an emphasis by brands on front-end brand values (emotions and aspirations) rather than back-end production pragmatics. Mirroring consumer demand. Consumers have little regard for how and where products are made, rather they fixate on transactional personal benefits.

Authorship exists on a sliding scale. It becomes noteworthy and substantial foremost on the reputation of the creator, as well as the type of product, price point, medium, architype, and classification.

It is an odd (and perhaps sad) dichotomy – either authorship is the most significant thing in the world or the least.

Luke BattenComment