HORIZONTAL SOCIETY AND THE ROLE OF DESIGN IN ITS STRUCTURE

Although it was considered to belong to the realm of economics, the concept “globalization” is an indispensable term in daily life, technology, art, culture and design. National borders, cultures, economies, and identities are gradually ceasing to exist, and technological developments are almost impossible to be kept up with. This rapid change exercised in 21st century influences the social structure, and there emerges the concept “horizontal society”.

Horizontal society (Friedman, 1999) brings about many transformations compared with the vertical society. The world becomes the global village; national economies, technologies and cultures disappear; and the most important problem of the horizontal society comes on stage: Identity. This is because that the countries in globalization do not sell each other cars, cereals, or steel only; but their cultures are available for export. The protection and diffusion of cultures turn out to be important in this context. This is possible only with the marketing of cultural goods.

This presentation focuses on the importance of national investments in design as a means of solution in the concerns revolving around ‘identity’.