Decolonizing Design

The notion of decolonizing design, designers, design organizations, and design education is a good one. Several initiatives have been underway that attempt to tackle the problem.Decentering Whiteness in Design History Resources has been put together by a self-described group of white design historians with the goal of decentering white people within the history of American design and the global history of design.They feel that the bibliography that they have put together is unique in that it focuses on race and ethnicity, looks at design history broadly within a wide theoretical and political range, is flexible and expansive, is thematic rather than chronologically organized, has a complete bibliography with annotations, and has a superior set of hashtags. The bibliography has a section of compelling assignments and student projects too.On another front, George Aye is tackling the problem by looking at design organizations, and primarily at one of the biggest ones around, AIGA.In his article, Dismantling White Supremacy Culture Within AIGA, featured on Medium this summer, Aye calls upon AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) to check what the "A" in AIGA stands for. Aye states that if you look at the list of medalists featured on AIGA, the organization might be ready for a rebrand with a more apt name being WAIGA (White American Institute for Graphic Artists.)In June, as Black Lives Matter protests grew, the organization proclaimed solidarity with the movement. Aye noted that AIGA did not credit or give attribution to those from the DEI taskforce, like Antionette Carroll, who publicly resigned from AIGA's board in this past December due to the organization's unwillingness to address DEI issues from within. Others involved in this work who were also ignored include Caroline Hill, Michelle, Molitor, and Christine Ortiz.Aye composed a letter to AIGA asking them to take a pause and do some deep reflecting  about what it means today to be an American designer instead of furthering white supremacy culture through their self-congratulatory cycle. His letter calls upon AIGA to look deeply into governance and operations and national strategic initiatives.As you read through the letter, you will see it's a big ask, but it's about time. If AIGA is sincere in their claim of solidarity with Black Lives Matter, it seems like they have no other choice.Sources:https://designincubation.com/design-news/decentering-whiteness-in-design-history-resources/https://medium.com/@george_aye/decolonizing-aiga-a6cc8fb8692e