It is common knowledge what we need to survive. The essentials of life boil down to food, water, shelter and sleep. So where, in that limited schema, does graphic design fit? In a recent conversation with a designer friend we discussed a possible similarity between design and music. Music is not technically essential to our existence but who can imagine the void that would be left without music. Perhaps we can consider music a second tier essential: not essential to sustain life, but essential to truly appreciate and enjoy life. So perhaps design serves a similar role of augmentation and improvement. So, by attempting to force graphic design into that first essential tier, are we simply in a state of denial/defensiveness?

Perhaps we are simply unwilling to accept the fact that the profession we have chosen or the work we do is not as important as we let ourselves believe. How many of us have/had grand notions of how our work will/would make the world a better, safer, or more efficient place? It is a common human desire: to affect positive change within our world. So many of us long to be "citizen designers"—making our mark on the world through our profession contributions thereto. So many of us got caught up in our own professional self-importance that we forgot that there are other ways in which we could make positive contributions to society.

Allow me address the phrase "citizen designer", as it has been a catch phrase in our field for at least the past few years. It is a badge that any self-respecting designer would be proud to wear. If we are working for the good of humankind this title is an official confirmation of our successes. The problem with the phrase is that it places these two words as an inseparable pair. We are not being encouraged to think as citizens and designers—we are being encouraged to practice good citizenship through design. I know many designers have a rather myopic view of the world outside of their work and thus spend far too much time wondering "what can I do as a designer to help" — time that could be much better spent simply volunteering for any number of traditional causes or organizations.

This entry is certainly not intended to be a holier-than-thou call to non-design-related social action. I write this because I only now realize that I too have been consumed by the desire to relate good citizenship to design. I am only now realizing that the two do not always have to overlap—when they do it is a beautiful opportunity, but when they don't we need to be resourceful and apply our skills to finding other avenues for good citizenship.