Presenting the Underrepresented
As Black History Month draws to a close, it's a great time to take a look at the website put together by Tim Hykes, a St. Louis based designer. The project, 28 Days of Black Designers, spotlights AIGA medalists like Sylvia Harris along with global designers like Rafael Smith whose career has focused on challenges related to poverty.Graphic design has a long history of being white male dominated, clearly lacking diversity in race, 86% of designers are Caucasian. Lack of diversity exists in gender, age, sexual identity, ability/disability, and location as well. In an article by Antoinette Carroll, Diversity & Inclusion in Design: Why Do They Matter?, Carroll discusses the interconnectedness of the world—in all its forms—and how important it is for innovation and subsequently, problem-solving, which is at the core of all design. Carroll's article goes on to state that by 2050 53% of the country will be people of color. It's vital that the design community openly embraces more diverse practitioners and retains them through inclusion.As Black History Month comes to a close, think about your role in presenting the underrepresented in the design world. You can start by celebrating and being inspired by these 28 designers.Sources:http://www.28blacks.com/http://www.aiga.org/profile?uid=209671http://www.aiga.org/diversity-and-inclusion-in-design-why-do-they-matter/https://www.subtraction.com/2017/02/23/28-days-of-black-designers/
How diverse is the world of graphic design?
How diverse do you think the graphic design world is? A recent New York Times article, "Design Gets More Diverse," interviewed black designers about their experiences.Eddie Opara, a partner at Pentagram, says that although design has often been called a "man's world," he feels it is more accurate to call it a "white man's world."AIGA medalist Gail Anderson says that she feels it's actually harder to break through barriers of gender than those of race.What has your experience with diversity been in the world of graphic design? Have you personally run into barriers because of your race or gender, or have you run into any other barriers like lack of prestigious education credentials, etc.?Source: The New York Times Read the full article.