self-surveillance
The practice of individuals monitoring their own behavior and data through digital devices, willingly participating in their own commodification.
2 chapters across 1 book
California: Designing Freedom (2017)The Design Museum
The chapter examines California's distinctive design culture rooted in an entrepreneurial ethos that markets individual freedom through technological tools, especially digital interfaces. It traces the evolution from early graphical user interfaces at Xerox PARC to Apple's holistic design philosophy, highlighting the expansion of design into strategic and multidisciplinary realms. The text critiques the Californian ideology's techno-utopian promise of liberation, revealing its consequences in surveillance, commodification of the self, and the transformation of individuals into both users and products within platform ecosystems.
The chapter traces the evolution of media and graphic design tools in California from the 1960s through the 1980s, highlighting their role in shaping perception, political activism, and personal expression. It contrasts the dominant East Coast modernist design style with California's experimental, socially engaged graphic culture, exemplified by figures like Sister Corita Kent and Emory Douglas. The chapter also explores how design became a medium for dialogue, social justice, and feminist pedagogy, culminating in a nationally recognized, innovative design scene that challenged traditional norms.