Färg, form och fält – en kvalitativ studie av Stockholms grafiska designfält

Sammanfattning: The field of graphic design is an essential part of the contemporary media and communication  landscape, not least as a result of  digitalization where visual content plays a more important role than ever before. Although influential, little research has been conducted in regards to graphic design. The thesis concerns the field of graphic design in Stockholm and poses two research questions. First, which social dynamics and unwritten rules are possible to discern from the graphic design field of Stockholm? Second, what does the interplay between an agent's position in the field and his/hers individual opinion concerning good graphic design look like?  The theoretical framework is centered around Pierre Bourdieu's field theory and its core concepts such as fields, capital, habitus and doxa. These are fundamental cornerstones for the thesis as a whole and used as an analytical framework. Furthermore, six qualitative semi-structured interviews with different actors from within the field were conducted and later analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results concluded that there are social dynamics and unwritten rules within the graphic design field of Stockholm concerning; talent, education, social climate, norms and values, visual guidelines and the purpose of graphic design. Moreover, all actors agree on one basic premise – if something is to be considered good graphic design it has to fulfill the basic purpose of graphic design. However, when it comes to how that premise is fulfilled, there is a clear interplay between an agent's position in the field and their opinion.