Carry That Weight

On one page of the book Design Anarchy (review coming soon!) author Kalle Lasn has drawn a musical note and written the line “Once there was a way to get back homeward” (it’s from the song “Golden Slumbers” by The Beatles). I’ve never thought of using song lyrics to describe my feelings about graphic design, but that quote is perfect (as well as being one of the few things I liked about Design Anarchy). It’s about melancholy; how it seems that the business has lost it’s way and has become impersonal and modern in the negative sense. There seems to be no way of returning back to the time when design and advertising were two different things and when, according to Julie Baugnet, “many designers discouraged work that looked too blatant and showy or full of hype”.

Ironically, “Golden Slumbers” is a part of a medley and slowly becomes the song “Carry That Weight” which is more or less a repetition of the line “You’re gonna carry that way a long time”, which is probably fitting when it comes to me and my design dilemmas. The more I read and think about the issues of my concerns, the farther I come from finding any real answers. Integrity is a heavy load we wear proudly, but sometimes it can be too heavy, pounding us to the ground, dead-beaten. But as a Nada Surf album title goes: “The Weight Is A Gift”.