從美工到設計師？ 台灣平面設計工作的專業認同與形成路徑

從美工到設計師，是平面設計工作者職稱的轉變，也意味著工作內容以及專業內涵的不同。近年來設計以一種生活風格之姿而廣受社會大眾歡迎，同時也因為其產製符號象徵意義的功能而開始備受產業界重視。從美工到設計師的現象，反映了設計專業在產業轉型過程中的角色與其重要性。在重視設計的趨勢底下，美工的意義因為其技術特質而從美術工藝被化約為平面設計的基礎能力，並在設計工具的轉變後，代言了技術門檻較低的「軟體操作員」，進而在平面設計捍衛專業價值時成為被排除的對象。但在成功地對美工畫界後，設計工作者的環境並未轉好，關鍵在美工所代言的工作處境並未隨著設計興起而消失，而是以設計之名存續在工作場域中。本文即透過釐清美工與平面設計的關係並做出區分，去揭示美工的存續對設計工作者、業主，及產業環境有什麼樣的影響與意義。而面對這樣一種有專業能力，缺乏專業權力的設計專業，本文以畫界的概念將關注焦點從權力的競逐轉向動態的指認過程，發現「從美工到設計」並非一條邁向專業的線性晉升路徑，而是個別設計師爭取創作自主性的畫界策略。包括（1）戲棚下站久了；（2）工作與創作分開；（3）篩選案子；（4）跨領域的UI設計師等四種路徑，都可以看見台灣社會在接納並宣稱尊重像平面設計這一類非典型專業時，因著對符號經濟較僵固的觀念，而以設計之名聘用美工產生的諸多矛盾。藉著討論台灣平面設計工作的專業認同，以及跟著畫界策略而生的專業形成路徑，進一步釐清了設計爭議的癥結點。本文揭示的是平面設計在台灣的特殊地位，以及其在產業轉型過程中，被推崇卻不被理解與善用的困境。

關鍵字

平面設計；美工；專業；產業轉型

並列摘要

From the craft labor to the graphic designer is not only the transformation of the design worker's title, but the difference in working content and the connotation of profession. Design, popular for being a life style, is emphasized in the industry on account of its function of producing the signs of symbols. The phenomenon, from the craft labor to the graphic designer, reflects the importance and the role design takes in the process of industrial transformation. In Taiwan, some of the design workers, focusing on technique, become the craft labors, and are taken as low-level designers by the others. However, the designers' boundary work doesn't improve their working conditions. This study tries to figure out the relation between the craft worker and graphic design, and reveal the influence and meaning of the craft worker for the design worker, the client and the industrial environment. To deal with design profession, which is with professional ability but without profession authority, this study uses the concept of boundary work, putting the emphasis on the process of dynamic identification instead of the power approach, and indicates that from the craft worker to the designer is not a linear approach, but diverse boundary working strategies, including all good things come to those who wait, separating work and creation, filtering cases and cross-border, which shows the contradiction between the claim of respecting profession and the reality.