Competency Understanding 4:

Responsibilities of Artists
and Designer
The people who live on this spinning globe we call Earth will wake up
tomorrow will judge us harshly for the decisions we make today. Let’s go out
there and make some good ones. -Curan (2016)
Every artist plays a different and necessary part in contributing to the overall
health, development, and well-being of our society. Creative thinkers and makers provide
their communities with joy, interaction, and inspiration, but they also give thoughtful
critique to our political, economic and social systems — pushing communities to engage
thoughtfully and make steps toward social progress.
This lesson will give you the responsibilities that a designer must embody to
become a great artist.
You will be guided with the SCARD of this module: Sketch It: Competency
Understanding: Acquisition of Competency; Reinforcement of Competency; and
Demonstration of Competency.
See feedback in the appendices attached for the performance rubrics and answer
key. If you wish to read further about the topic, the references are listed for you to check
out.
Lesson Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you must have:
1. Identified the responsibilities of designer.
2. Defined Republic Act no. 10557.
3. Applied the responsibilities of an artist and designer.

Sketch It!
Collect your thoughts. This is a simple pretest on your knowledge in
visual arts.

Name: ____________________________________________
Course/Year/Section: ________________________________
Photo
here Date: ___________ Time: ____________
Write at least 5 responsibilities as an artist that you have
established within yourself. Write your oath here.
1. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

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Republic Act No. 10557
Philippine Design Competitiveness Act of 2013 or the Republic Act No. 10557. An
Act Promoting and Strengthening Filipino Design, Providing For The Purpose A National
Design Policy And Renaming The Product Development And Design Center Of The
Philippines Into The Design Center Of The Philippines And For Other Purposes

Design Awareness

(8) Promote the design profession and the value of design;

(9) Build awareness of the importance of design to the public, through local and
international exhibitions, conferences, competitions, community and school
activities and other design-related events;
(10) Promote awareness on the protection of intellectual property rights;
(11) Establish more public creative zones and environments in Metro Manila and
other central hubs in different regions across the country;
Design Integration
(12) Create networks and establish venues where all industries could interact in
design dialogues and workshops, thereby promoting knowledge exchange,
capability development and collaborative content creation;
(13) Identify and encourage public and private collaborations regarding design,
competitiveness, governance and innovation to promote networking,
business and partnership opportunities;

Design for Development

(14) Conduct design-led approaches and competitions for the design industry to
help government solve socioeconomic and environmental challenges;
(15) Actively push for the use of design and innovation in government offices and
departments, with the objective of coming up with programs and processes
that will enable the government to simplify and streamline systems, so it can
deliver its services more effectively and efficiently;
(16) Maintain a standard of sustainable design in all projects that are undertaken
by the Design Center;
(17) Employ design as a fundamental tool for communicating a strong, singular
identity of the country;

Design and Innovation

(18) Create a skill development, mentoring and support system for individuals,
corporations, partnerships or associations, particularly SMEs, who want to
benefit from the strategic use of good design in business administration,
commerce, trade and other enterprises; and
(19) Undertake research and development on the different design strengths and
assets of the Philippines (i.e. manipulation and development of raw materials

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 that are indigenous to the country) so we can be able to come up with globally
relevant yet uniquely Filipino innovations.

Responsibilities of Designer
Designers we have certain responsibilities. Responsibilities to the craft.
Responsibilities to your fellow designers and collaborators and a responsibility to work on
products and projects that impact the world in a positive way. If you are not willing to
accept these responsibilities then you really have no business in being a designer. We have
a great opportunity in front of us. We can choose to be selfish and design and create for
ourselves.
As we like to say, Design is problem solving. Or some variation on that description.
It is not art, nor is it magic. It is a process and we do not embark upon the journey of
design alone. We rely on many other people to bring our collective visions to life and to
validate that they make sense. We need to be collaborative. Working with our partners in
Product Management, Research, Copywriting and Engineering amongst many others are
not necessary evils. They are a fundamental part of the job. To do this well requires
humility. A recognition that we do not have all the answers. We have some of them but
only when we work as a team with those in other disciplines can we be sure that the
answers are right and correct.
We also owe a responsibility to the other designers around us and the vibrant and
diverse community that they are. Designers love to argue. Let’s make sure we argue about
things that matter. Leave your ego at the door and discover the benefits of community.
Seeking out other points of view is a path to inspiration. We need to remember that when
building our networks and our teams. Otherwise, homogeneity beckons and homogeneity
are the devil.

Role of artists
Artists are a vehicle for expressing universal emotion.
An artist has the ability to ‘feel strongly’ to be ‘sensitive’ to things and express this
in the paint, gesture, or color. The artist ‘absorbs’ the atmosphere of a place or the
memory of a feeling. Sometimes, it’s a burden for the artist to carry all this emotion – to
be so sensitive.

Artists are responsible for unearthing the truth

Being an artist involves wearing all sorts of masks, just like any other job, but the
difference is we have the lingering responsibility to unearth the truth of things. Sometimes
we will seem vulnerable, sometimes we will make mistakes. But the main thing is not to
give up.

Artists work to illuminate the margins and make societal changes

Rather than the word "role", I prefer "commitment". Over many years as an arts
educator, I have helped people and communities find their voices and express their
concerns through individual and collaborative art projects. This used to be called public
art. Now, it is often known as social practice.

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All of these acts can illuminate what lies hidden or repressed in the margins or shadows.
New ideas can be brought to life. These ideas can lead to small or large changes in
attitudes and even society.

They tell stories and pass on traditions

Artists record and preserve our human history. We live in an ever more intricate
society where every individual regardless of its specific role plays an important part in the
social biodiversity of the world. Artists have been crucial from the very beginning of our
existence. From prehistoric cave paintings to frescos around the world, to scientific
drawings, to the avant-garde movements, artists have contributed to expanding human
evolution from many different perspectives. This expansion, much like the universe, is still
going on and artists still play an important role.
So, as an artist, we want to grow awareness about the lasting visible traces in the
landscape. From our vague history, we wanted to preserve them by capturing the moment
so that the posterity can still have a glimpse of the beauty that we have experience and
experiencing in the present.

Artists connect with and inspire people globally

As we live in a global village, we are somehow all connected via some form of social media.
Artists are no longer hermits and we are all "out there". As an artist, your role is to inspire,
connect, and collaborate.
Artist create a sense of community and belongingness, not exclusive but inclusive
to all who are aspiring to become one.

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