February 21, 2022

Sociology

Claudino Ferreira

This investigation deals with creative work, seeking to sociologically understand the heterogeneity of situations that comprise it, its mode of organization and functioning and its current importance. It focuses on an exemplary domain of the cultural and creative sector and, in a broader sense, of the creative economy -graphic and communication design -, analyzing it in the light of the specificities of the Portuguese context. As we try to argue throughout the thesis, design is today a privileged object either to understand and debate the practical reality of creative work, or to problematize some of the homogenizing and simplifying conceptions that, within the framework of a rhetoric that is still hegemonic in the technical-scientific, political, economic and media contexts have asserted themselves on creative work and its contribution to the processes of socio-economic development today.It is questioned what creative work in graphic and communication design represents today and what is its relevance (politically, economically, socially, culturally) in Portugal; in which situations and under which concrete conditions the work of graphic and communication designers is currently developed, identifying itsmain vectors of transformation and the great changes that have taken place in recent decades; what are the singularitiesthat distinguish this type of creative work from other "non-creative" forms of work; and, finally, how, within its scope, the notion of creativity and otherassociated notions, such as innovation, originality, authorship, entrepreneurship, are conceived and applied.To this end, an analytical model was proposed which, combining a micro and macro-sociological approach, intended to capture, in its complexity, the multiplicity and heterogeneity of discourses, contexts and professional practice in graphic and communicationdesignin Portugal.Adopting a simultaneously synchronic and diachronic perspective, this investigation sought to characterize the way in whichthis area of creative activity was developed over time; who are its main protagonists; what are the various discourses and rhetoric (in political, academic, business, media spheres, among others) currently existing about the design sector in Portugal, as well as the possible measures and instruments of public policy that, over time, were being specifically addressed to its development and consolidation; and, finally, what are the multiple contexts of work in graphic and communication design in Portugal and the kind of socio-professional relationships that are constituted and developed in this field.Methodologically, different instruments and research techniques were mobilized in order to obtain a broader, multifaceted and complex sociological look at thegraphic and communication design labour market in Portugal.

Keywords: creative work; design; culture; cultural policies; design history