Timing is everything, by Peter Hall

Timing is everything in Graphic design, and by that i don't mean time management. A designer can be greatly appreciated for a certain piece at one time but hated by the same piece at another time. That is because people are naturally affected by the events that they are living through and especially when you are working on a political design, you should consider the events or the situation that the people are in at that certain period in order to be effective. Not only that but you need to be sensitive to people's feelings at that stage so that you don't offend anyone or be misread.

An example of that situation was given in the article, the " Wish you were here" issue by sphere magazine in 2001. That year, the most unpopular president of america yet has been elected and it was a big issue that he was so shockingly unfit to be a president. The editors of the magazine decided to make the issue about it , by making artists and designers around the world design postcards of issues that they think the president should be aware of. At the time they thought it would be a huge hit and wouldn't be a problem since their country is all about freedom of speech and opinion. Unfortunately for them, the timing couldn't be worse for them to publish that issue. They published it just days before 9/11 and that changed things completely. Instead of people reacting positively to the issue and giving feedback about the issues that were addressed in the magazine, they attacked the editors for publishing such negative criticism of the american government at a sensitive time and they accused them of being terrorists themselves! The editors replied by explaining that they started the project months before 9/11 occurred.

The point here is that, if the timing of the publishing was different, that issue would have gotten a completely different reaction from people. That is why political designers have to be very careful and extra sensitive to the era they are living in.

The writer concluded by quoting socrates when he said : " The unpopularity of an idea does not prove it's false. It does however prove that it's unpopular" and i completely agree.