DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES ON graphic DESIGN

a glancing blow at identifying diverse perspectives in graphic design, which are sorely needed in the discipline. please contact me if you have suggestions to add: tyler [at] thenewprogramme.net

note that this is very much a slow, piecemeal, work-in-progress. people and resources are added as i am made aware of them.

find by design is a resource to find and hire black designers. it includes a directory of portfolios that currently includes designers in the u.s. and the uk/ireland. you can also submit a portfolio to be considered for inclusion in their listings.

28 black designers is a great resource on a range of creative types – graphic design, lettering, illustration, ux, etc. – originally created to highlight black designers during black history month. be sure to check out the “2017 featured designers” [top nav] for 28 more designers!

gail anderson / anderson newton design, new york

timothy bardlavens / product design lead, cultural strategist, DEI specialist, speaker

audrey bennett / design educator, university of michigan

antionette carroll / creative reaction lab founder, st louis

emory douglas / former minister of culture for the black panther party / intro video “letterform archive” article

W. E. B. Du Bois / [historical] american sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, pan-africanist, author, writer and editor. known in design circles for his data graphics visualizing black america.

schessa garbutt / firebrand creative house, inglewood, ca

rick griffith / matter studio, denver

sylvia harris / sylvia harris llc, brooklyn. here also

amos paul kennedy / kennedy prints! letterpress printer

jon key / morcos key; jon’s fine art website

bobby c martin / champions design

chaz maviyane-davis / graphic designer, internationally recognized social/political poster designer; creative defiance [studio website]

angelica mckinley / art director and ux designer

cheryl d holmes miller / corporate identity, logo, and publication designer; writer; clergy

terresa moses / blackbird revolt, assistant professor at the university of minnesota

silas munro / poly-mode

de nichols / arts-based organizer, social impact designer, serial entrepreneur, and keynote lecturer

liz ogbu / designer, urbanist, and social innovator

mitzi okou / interaction and visual designer

eddie opara / pentagram partner

michele washington / office of michele washington; educator at fashion institute of technology

the black school / an experimental art school teaching radical black history

“the missing chapter[s]: some history about black graphic design” video from vermont college of fine arts. “Three micro lectures and a panel discussion: the Missing Chapter(s): Some History About Black Graphic Design with faculty Tasheka Arceneux-Sutton, Silas Munro and alumnx Pierre Bowins.”

“the black experience in graphic design: 1968 and 2020” great and thorough article on letterform archive that includes short interviews from a large range of designers who are black.

where are the black designers? / “an initiative and platform for Black designers. by connecting designers, educators, and creative leaders we host a dialogue about change, both in and out of the design industry.”

blackswho.design / “highlights all of the inspiring Black designers in the industry. the goal is to inspire new designers, encourage people to diversify their feeds, and discover amazing individuals to join your team.”

“find by design” a space to discover black designers. a great resource for those looking to hire; designers can submit a portfolio link to be considered for inclusion in the list.

Gurafiku: Japanese Graphic Design / A collection of visual research surveying the history of graphic
design in Japan. Conducted by designer, Ryan Hageman.

information graphics

giorgia lupi – an information designer and a partner at pentagram advocating for data humanism.

w.e.b. du bois – sociologist, historian, activist, Pan-Africanist, and prolific author who also designed many information graphics depicting various aspects of the economic experience of people of color in georgia through the 1800s and into the early 1900s. [see also the link in the top section of this page]
check out the book “w.e.b. du bois’s data portraits visualizing black america: the color line at the turn of the 20th century”

data dozen is a visual analytics studio run by erin waldron in kansas city.