Design production in creative industries: criticism of the neoliberal capitalist logic

Abstract

In this study, we consider the professional designer’s work as project-oriented praxis guided by dialectical logic, that is, one that is shaped and, at the same time, shapes capitalist creative work. Through a critical social analysis, we show the marketing dimension of imperative socio-economic notions in the Field of Design and how they impact it, since the current understanding of the act of creating is technocratic. To develop this investigation, we begin with a presentation of the cap italist mode of production and its determination, and the critical bias that emerges as a challenge to this configuration. Next, we trace the meaning of “creativity” as a historical process and its consequences in Design. Afterwards, we contextualize the current hegemonic nature of late cap italism, the Creative Industries, and how Adobe Inc. influences the digitalization of production. With the results obtained in this critical analysis, we highlight the importance of observing impli cations of social phenomena in the praxis of designing, and how the creative process is impacted by materiality.