How Can Designers Support the Fight for Racial Justice?
Season 4, Episode 3
The Black Lives Matter movement has mobilized countless people all over the world in the urgent fight for true racial justice and equality. In this episode of Wireframe, host Khoi Vinh, Senior Director of Design at Adobe, examines the intersection of BLM and the world of design and creativity.
He speaks with an artist bridging his work with newfound activism, a team member from the group behind the original BLM logo, and the world’s first Black dean of a design school. Together, they unpack the challenge of building a brand around an expansive social movement; investigate the role that art, craft, and design can play in the struggle; and bring to light how bias can impact the underpinnings of the design profession itself.
Featured in this episode
Teddy Phillips is an illustrator who posts on Instagram as Stat the Artist. He discovers that his artwork plays a bigger role in the protests than he had realized – and gets inspired to bridge his art with newfound activism.
Ivy Climacosa is a worker-owner at Design Action Collective, the team behind the first BLM logo. Ivy explains the unique challenges of designing for an activist movement, and how design helps to clearly and effectively communicate the message.
Dori Tunstall, Dean of the Faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto, is on a mission to decolonize design. She speaks with Khoi about how the definition of design itself can be culturally problematic, the actions she’s taking to create a more inclusive industry, and how all designers can work towards a more just and diverse practice.
Listen to the podcast to hear the story, and click here to read a full transcript of this episode.
Learn more about how Adobe is listening, learning, and taking action and see more on Adobe’s efforts to support diversity and inclusivity.
