I did something wrong yesterday.
I posted what were some emotive design sketches received from Swedish designer, Johan Wejedal, prior to going to bed last night. Posting those sketches and then putting my head on my pillow meant that I couldn’t monitor the comments that came through about them and as it turned out, those comments needed monitoring.
Johan, I published your sketches because I believed they were interesting to look at and provided a good discussion point about the future of Saab vehicle design. I did not foresee what turned out to be a smattering of personal comments that were probably hurtful for you, and were definitely embarassing for me as a publisher.
For my part in not scheduling the release of these sketches in a responsible manner, I’m very sorry.
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To those who chose to attack the designer instead of discussing the designs themselves in a respectful manner, I think you’ve embarrassed yourselves as well as me today.
Allow me to refer you to the comments policy of this site:
Respect
Good sportsmanship on the football field implies that the ball is the objective, not the man with the ball (rugby and gridiron fans, please think of other codes of football – ones where kicking the ball with one’s foot is a big part of the game).
It’s the same in comments.
The ball is the issue at hand and your opinion should be confined to that issue. No personal references to other people should be made (unless you know them personally and know they’ll understand where you’re coming from).
The key to everything is to write with respect.
Certain comments have been removed from the post covering Johan’s work because they were personal in nature. To the person who kicked it all off and then justified his criticism by pointing out the correct nature of his pedantry with an all-caps AM I WRONG? Well, no, you weren’t wrong about the name of the model in question, but you were wrong in so many other ways, as were some who followed.
I don’t mind if people don’t like the sketches and I don’t think Johan minds that either. Design does polarise people and he’d know that just like any designer would. It’s how you approach and explain your thoughts that matters and some people just did it in the wrong way.
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My thanks to those of you who did approach the sketches in a respectful manner and tried to keep a lid on things.
Saabs United is mean to be a respectful place. We are critical of various parties where it is warranted but that’s in a professional capacity where the incorrect nature of their work (I’m mainly talking about journalists here) can be pointed out clearly.
To attack something as subjective as design and make your attack personal against the designer in question is out of place on this website. Johan was a guest here, just like you are, and his efforts should have been afforded the same respect you’d desire for yourselves in the same position.