Graphic Design for the Real World? - Analysis

What is the main argument of the article?
The main argument of this body of work is that graphic design can be utilised for activism. More-so, it questions the capacity of how it can do so by comparing - “campaigns that aim to be activist but in their practice are closer to commercial design culture, to projects that are not executed by graphic designers or originally have no activist intention, but are visual interventions that can be interpreted as activist graphic design”

What is the main theoretical framework of the article?
The main theoretical framework of the article is based upon ideas put forward by Papanek in Design for the Real World. Papanek talks about design which is ‘on the social side of good’ - some of his requirements for this include that designers should be advocates for users, and that instead of voicing a clients voice in a commercial design, or their own, they can create design that is a service to the reader. A definition of what ‘design activism’ is created through the analysis of a couple of different sources, including Papanek. This framework is then used to assess each example of graphic design, deducing whether or not it fits the definition and whether it can be called ‘activist design’.

What types of design do they critique?
This article highlights how depending on the purpose of each of these designs, who has made them, and whether they are a service to the reader, this informs whether they are ‘activist’ design or not. We see examples of commercial design/advertisement which aims to promote awareness for a social cause however ultimately aims to persuade and therefore is not a service to the reader. On the other end of the spectrum, we see projects that have not been undertaken by graphic designers and are intended to inform and has more utility for the reader/user, it involves them. 

What might you as a designer take from this? 

From here, what you could do is take this definition of ‘activist design’ and create a body of work that fits within it. Alternatively you could build upon it; the examples of design that is ‘activist design’ in this article still have problems; they’re not as visually considered ands intuitive because they’re not made by designers. How could you take on the ideals of ‘activist design’ into a more bespoke design brief?

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