Politics of design
Ruben Pater
Favourite This little masterpiece really hit the sweet spot for me. It is a perfectly designed and beautiful manual for visual communication. Every page shows that an incredible amount of thought has been put into the book.
I was entertained, learned quite a few new things (e.g. about Arabic adaptation for Latin logotypes, about colour and gender, about how we read images and more) and came away with a renewed belief about its central premise: all design is political.
The last paragraph ties this book to my current work as a digital rights activist: "In the future our lives are more likely to be limited by our data than by our physical appearance. Our credit rating, medical history, political viewpoints, and our criminal history already influence our chances of getting a job, getting affordable healthcare or a loan, or the ability to buy a house. Not the prejudice of people, but the discrimination of our data is the new challenge for equality in design." All technology is political too of course.
I will come back to this book often and urge you get yourself a copy.
Book information
Status: Read
| 25-05-2016 | Finished reading |
| 24-05-2016 | Started reading |
| 24-05-2016 | Acquired |
Description
Many designs that appear in today's society will circulate and encounter audiences of many different cultures and languages. With communication comes responsibility; are designers aware of the meaning and impact of their work? An image or symbol that is acceptable in one culture can be offensive or even harmful in the next. A typeface or colour in a design might appear to be neutral, but its meaning is always culturally dependent. If designers learn to be aware of global cultural contexts, we can avoid stereotyping and help improve mutual understanding between people. Politics of Design is a collection of visual examples from around the world. Using ideas from anthropology and sociology, it creates surprising and educational insight in contemporary visual communication. The examples relate to the daily practice of both online and offline visual communication: typography, images, colour, symbols, and information. Politics of Design shows the importance of visual literacy when communicating beyond borders and cultures. It explores the cultural meaning behind the symbols, maps, photography, typography, and colours that are used every day. It is a practical guide for design and communication professionals and students to create more effective and responsible visual communication. Enhances your visual literacy for communication beyond borders and cultures. It is full of examples of political meaning in graphic design. And it is great for students to create more effective and responsible visual communication.