Almost serving as something of a response to Paula Scher's commentary we posted the other day about the new golden age of advertising embracing good design, Joe Duffy over at AdWeek is following suit with his recent, lengthy story, "By and For the People." In it, he explains why he thinks not just advertising is finally coming around and getting why design is so important in this fractured landscape of potential ad buys and unreliable rate of return numbers, but how opening up the centuries old speaker-to-receiver method to something more like a "you tell us what you want" style, is better for the industry as a whole and everyone had better embrace that truth before they're left behind. There's a bunch going on in the piece, but it's a solid read, particularly if you're in the industry of creatively selling stuff. It also has some nice "up with people!" moments:

Design, in its broadest definition, is not just another way to market a product or a new version of advertising. Design is a way to create a more meaningful existence, a way to transform a mundane lifestyle into one that separates one person's life from another's. Design can change the way we look at the world as well as the way the world sees us. It's a way of leading a unique and individualized existence, a better life.