Everything you know and love has been catalysed by integration—language, humour, economy and (most importantly) food. So why is design still more white than Apple packaging?
Go on any studio website, click the About Us tab and you’ll likely see a couple of white men and if you’re lucky a few white women too. Go on my website and you’ll also see a white man and no women, unless of course you are reading this in the far future and perhaps you might see a genderless species should science have progressed thus far. The question is, where are the darker skin tones? Where are people with names other than Dave, John and Susan? Where is the colour in this monochromatic design sphere?
According to AIGA’s Design Census for 2016, they are pushed behind the 73% white domination. They – being the other; other meaning anything other than caucasian – are the 23% that is rarely seen but are likely spurring the change and multi-culturalism that our beloved industry needs. The Basquiat’s and the Khalo’s are being drowned by Constable’s worldwide—though there’s nothing wrong with the Constable’s, colour perfect upper-class landscapes aren’t nearly as fun as Bollywood.
If we poked our duvet pale faces out the doors of tradition, heritage and monotony for a minute, we might see their is a world filled with non-mainstream creativity that has otherwise existed in a tourist like curiosity state. There are colours that we didn’t know existed and fonts other than Helvetica—there are haircuts other than ‘a bit off the top’ and there are skintones warmer than Dulux’s Minimalist Canvas.
It’s all well and good me mouthing off about the lack of difference in design industry as a white middle class boy, but if I were to put myself in the mindset of a minority person—I can’t image a sea of white faces being lit up even brighter by digital white frames otherwise known as the iMac would certainly be a situation that I wouldn’t be comfortable with. It’s not that anyone with light skin is a racist shite – because statistically the creative industry holds very few ignorant arseholes – but if I can’t relate to something, I too would be hesitant to throw all my weight into it.
For all I know the communities of non-white might just not be interested in design, but when I look at the heritage of Asia, Africa and South America, I see creativity woven into daily life despite the strife and amongst the triumph—so it would be a bizarre situation if on mass, the more creative communities of the world didn’t want to make their existence of colour and expression into a career.
So what happens when design isn’t white?
This.
Would you believe, it’s not too hard to find notable Indian, African and South American designers by name, but their work is documented in a western format, so it’s very difficult for a time struck young lad (myself) to find copious visual examples of their work through the internet. Worse than that, one of India’s most prominent female designers Sujata Keshavan is described as ‘Ramachandra Guha’s wife’ before her highly regarded career. What a world ey?
