Postmodernism is Dead?

While researching, I found this article which not only asserts that Postmodernism is dead(or at least dying), but also goes on to question what exactly the movement was, and what movement will come next.
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2011/07/postmodernism-is-dead-va-exhibition-age-of-authenticism/
I found this article to be very interesting, and suggest that everyone at least skim through it.


The part I feel is most relevant to this course  begins towards the end of the article, with the author declaring,"Certainly, the internet is the most postmodern thing on the planet." The author postulates that there is a reverse reaction to the over consumption of social networking and constant immersion in the virtual world; that people are yearning for a sense of authenticity. While I do not believe that people will all together go offline, I do believe it is important for us as digital and interactive designers to understand this desire for what is real, or what feels real. To me, part of this theory means designing things which could be highly customized, to the point where each user feels as though it was handmade just for them. It also reminds me that users tend to be more comfortable with what they know, as in the feel of flipping through the pages of a magazine.


The author made another point in the last line of the second to last paragraph, stating, " It’s not just the story, after all, but how the story is told." This sentiment directly correlates to Marshall McLuhan's frequented quoted phrase, "the medium is the message." How the story is told represents the medium. Message and medium have a symbiotic relationship; the medium determines the message's perception. I think that as a designer with countless mediums at hand, we must all be careful in deciding how we want to tell a story for our client, and why that medium will benefit the message.