Media Re: Socialization by Joseph Wheeler

MEDIA RE: SOCIALIZATION Joseph R. Wheeler | 2015 | Master of Fine Arts in Transdisciplinary Design

MEDIA RE: SOCIALIZATION Designing Media that Prompts the Normalization of a Critical Social Consciousness

by Joseph R. Wheeler | 2015 Master of Fine Arts in Transdisciplinary Design

Thanks! Media Re: Socialization is a MFA thesis for the Transdisciplinary Design Program at Parsons, The New School for Design. Endless thanks to everyone who helped make this thesis happen, specifically my collaborator Rachael Friedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;without whom I would be left with an incomplete project, and my thesis adviser Patricia Beirneâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;without whom I would be left directionless with only the incoherent rambling of a nerdy, socially engaged, lunatic.

MEDIA RE: SOCIALIZATION 1 2 3

The Power of Storytelling ..............01 My Practice ...................................09 My Project .....................................13 + The Problem ..................................18 + Our Strategy ..................................22 + Our Criteria ...................................28 + Our Research .................................32 + Our Precedents + Our Iterations

..............................38

................................52

+ Our Impact ...................................86

Making Things Right, By Design .....91

The Power of Storytelling

Over 50% of the world identifies with a religious tradition that shares the Hebrew Bible as canonical.1 That means one out of every two people alive right now has had their perspective on what is right and what is wrong influenced, if not defined, by the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood, Moses and the Egyptians, David and Goliath. Regardless of whether or not these stories are believed to be divine truth, historically influenced, or entirely allegorical, they have unquestionably shaped the framework of modern morality around the globe. A single set of stories from the ancient near east

is still informing the beliefs and practices of nearly 4 billion people over 3 thousand years later.

1 “The Global Religious Landscape.” Pew Research Center’s Religion Public Life Project. 2012. Web.

From religious doctrines to political propaganda to children’s cartoons, stories have an astonishing capacity to influence the world we live in. Stories are what teach people how to interact with the world around them. The process of learning how to interact with other people is called socialization2 and storytelling plays a major role in that life long endeavour.3 All storytelling—whether fact or fiction—is intended to convey some information from one person to the other, to teach someone a lesson or present one perspective on the truth.

Today, in the age of content, most of our stories are communicated through media outputs. Whether that is a tweet, a YouTube video, a comic book, an interactive documentary, or a BuzzFeed quiz, mediated storytelling is all around us. While most people acknowledge the ramifications of media enough to warn against exposing children to sexual content or gratuitous violence, we seldom confront the anti-progressive influence of gender tropes in advertising or racially-bias language in journalism.

Storytelling and socialization are constantly playing off one another to construct our culture according to the ideals presented by the storytellers. When our media disseminates a story that is bias, stereotypical, or uninformed it socially normalizes discriminatory mindsets and perpetuates the existing forms of inequality.4

2 Clausen, John A. “Socialization and Society” Boston: Little, Brown, 1968. Print. 3 Gonzalez-Mena, Janet, and Janet Gonzalez-Mena. “Child, Family, and Community: Family-centered Early Care and Education” Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Pearson, 2009. Print. 4 Hall, Stuart, “Representation & The Media” Media Education Foundation. 1997. Video

CREATES BIASED MEDIA ?

Discriminatory Pop Culture

INGRAINS BIASES !?

Normative Society 03

Media is often produced in response to a demand—a reaction based on what audiences want. A Michael Bay movie might be sexist and demeaning but only because it is what people pay to see, right? This mindset, however, ignores the ability media makers have to influence opinions and shape culture through the stories they choose to tell. Every decision in a media project is a

statement—an opportunity to challenge or accept the existing status quo. In the same way mediated storytelling can influence socialization to reinforce stigmas and stereotypes, media makers can use the persuasive power of storytelling to spread socially progressive ideologies.5

If critically designed, mediated storytelling can be the starting point for progressive re-socialization instead of just another cultural output that perpetuates discriminatory systems.

Fortunately, we are seeing a steadily increasing amount of popular media that is taking the time to be inclusive and respectful and is still doing exceptionally well in the marketplace. Video games like The Last of Us6 and Dragon Age: Inquisition7 are both AAA titles that won Game of the Year awards along with GLAAD awards for representation of LGBT characters. Doc McStuffins8 is a show on Disney Channel for toddlers and young children fighting stereotypes by featuring a young, black, female doctor as the central

5 6 7 8

Hall, “Representation & The Media” Hudson, Laura. “The Videogame That Finally Made Me Feel Like a Human Being.” Wired.com. 2014. Web. Gaider, David. “A Character Like Me.” Polygon. 2014. Web. Barnes, Brooks. “Disney Finds a Cure for the Common Stereotype With ‘Doc McStuffins’.” The New York Times. 2012. Web.

protagonist. At the same time you have shows for teens like Star Wars: Rebels9 and Steven Universe10 being praised for combating tropes and passing the famous Bechdel Test with flying colors. Sadly,

however, the presence of a select number of good examples does not make up for the glaring misrepresentation in the media industry as a whole.

In a 2014 blog post discussing the process of adding the first major transgender character to a Bioware video game, writer Patrick Weekes (sadly) revealed how including socially progressive content is often viewed as a pet project picked up by progressive individuals.11 There is no one internal to media teams focusing on the social impact of the project. Socially progressive content is merely an optional addition that might receive praise when done correctly, rather than a standard to be expected or demanded by audiences. There needs to be a constant push for inclusive and respectful

content until it becomes the norm, and thoughtless discrimination becomes the uncommon exception.

I wholeheartedly believe that there are very few people in this world who actively hope to perpetuate discriminatory systems. The average person, however, is not prone to introspectively grapple with the negative ramifications and hypocrisies of their own actions; ignorance is far more common than evil. 9 @GeekGirlDiva. “How ‘Star Wars Rebels’ Earns an A+ on the Bechdel Test.” EW.com. 2014. Web. 10 Mey. “”Steven Universe” and the Importance of All-Ages Queer Representation.” Autostraddle. 2015. Web. 11 Weekes, Patrick. “Building a Character: Cremisius “Krem” Aclassi.” BioWare Blog. 2014. Web.

Regardless of the medium, by bringing a socially critical lens to the design of media objects we can combat the ignorance that facilitates discrimination through critical self awareness and social consciousness. Introducing this â&#x20AC;&#x153;critical consciousnessâ&#x20AC;? to the mainstream majority through designed media is one way designers can do their part to help break the repetitive cycles of normative culture and begin to re-socialize towards a more mutually respectful and just society.

Definition: Critical Consciousness First coined by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire in the 1960s, “critical consciousness” is defined as a state of in-depth understanding of the world resulting in a morally progressive, engaged, and holistic view of life. Critical consciousness brings together elements of critical thinking, systemic awareness, understanding causality, and empathetic connection to help translate thought into pro-social action. This mindset can inspire underprivileged communities to participate in their own emancipation and teach those in power to avoid perpetuating systems of oppression. A powerful tool for normalizing socially progressive ideologies, critical consciousness in grounded in an authentic moral motivation that influences and empowers those who have reached this level of self and systemic awareness.12

12 Mustakova-Possardt, Elena. “Critical Consciousness: A Study of Morality in Global, Historical Context” Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. Print.

My Practice

From a speculative film about gendered branding to a board game that teaches players about international energy consumption, during my time in the Transdisciplinary Design program I have had the opportunity to explore a wide range of tactics for designing innovative media that engages audiences around social change. My practice revolves round using strategically designed

media to tell compelling stories that encourage critical engagement with wickedly complex social problems.

Collaborative Ideation

Design Thinking

Creative Strategies Interaction Design Systems Thinking

Activism

Social Issue Advocacy Social Criticism

Advocacy Media

Media Design Communication Design

Most existing advocacy media relies on sympathy to motivate behavior change or attempts to shame those who have a less informed perspective on the issue—furthering the cultural “othering” that motivates most social inequality. At the same time, traditional advocacy media is reactive rather than proactive. If an NFL player hits his wife we get a campaign about “No More.”13 If a police officer shoots an unarmed black teenage we trend the hashtag “Black Lives Matter.” Whether or not these messages are effective, they are responses to the visible manifestations of broken systems. Bringing a user-centered design perspective to advocacy media can help increase impact and ignite meaningful change. As a transdisciplinary designer, I am working to address social issues

that transcend single disciplines by designing innovative media interventions that challenge the ideologies that generate discriminatory systems—reducing the likelihood of discriminatory behaviors rather than reacting to the negative behaviors when they occur. This is systems change in place of putting out fires.

13 Moskovitz, Diana. “No More, The NFL’s Domestic Violence Partner, Is A Sham.” Deadspin. 2015. Web.

My Project

As a case study of this larger practice, I am working with fellow MFA candidate, Rachael Fried, on a project investigating how we could design media to help parents talk to their young children about race and racism in a constructive way. Interestingly, the idea of starting conversations about race seems to be a trending issue area at the current moment with campaigns like MTV’s “The Talk” and Starbuck’s infamous #RaceTogether initiative.

Case Study 1: MTV’s “The Talk” On Martin Luther King day 2015 from 9am to 9pm MTV aired all content in black and white along with the release of some original content and celebrity interviews discussing race. The 12 hour network take over was the initiation of MTV’s latest social activism campaign, “The Talk,” a movement to encourage their audience to speak up, share stories, and have an honest and brave conversation about race. The network takeover stirred up a lot of attention on social media while encouraging viewers to go online and share their own stories. As part of their broader campaign addressing racial, gender, and anti-LGBT bias, “The Talk” was a bold and well executed way to attract attention and catalyze a much needed conversation about race and racial bias.14

14 MTV News Staff. “Why Is MTV Black-And-White?” MTV News. Viacom International Inc. 2015. Web.

Case Study 2: Starbuck’s “#RaceTogether” In February of 2015, Howard Schultz the CEO of Starbucks announced a companywide campaign addressing race and racism. The campaign includes a commitment to “hire 10,000 disadvantaged youth over the next three years and open new stores in communities with large minority populations.”15 The most visible part of the campaign, however, was “#RaceTogether” written on cups by baristas in an attempt to start a conversation with customers about race. #RaceTogether resulted in awkward and offensive interactions for customers and employees alike. The campaign ended on March 22nd—soon after it’s announcement—although the company contends that this was the scheduled date of completion not a result of the widespread criticism and ridicule.16

15 Sanders, Sam. “Starbucks Will Stop Putting The Words ‘Race Together’ On Cups.” NPR. 2015. Web.

16 Ibid

The Problem Racism is a complex and ingrained social issue. While traditional racial prejudice seems

to be less prevalent in our day-to-day, systemic racism is still a rampant problem. From incarceration rates to unemployment, average income to high school dropout rates, so many of our societal institutions are harming people of color at appalling levels. 17

In a 1968 interview, author and social critic James Baldwin explained, “People of color can only conclude what White America feels about them based on the state of our institutions.”18 Despite the progress that has been made in the past 50 years, from the perspective of oppressed racial minorities the ramifications of systemic racism are still harshly. The white majority in America might harbor less ill-

will towards people of color, but intention is irrelevant when our systems are still disadvantaging racial minorities at disproportionate rates. While overt prejudice may no longer be fueling these discriminatory systems, discrimination still happens.

17 Johnson, Theodore R. “What If Black America Were a Country?” The Atlantic. 2014. Web. 18 Baldwin, James. “James Baldwin on The Dick Cavett Show, 1968.” The Dick Cavett Show. 1968. Video.

THEN

NOW From kindergarden through

There is a 14% unemployment

1 Black person is killed by a

High School, Black students are

rate among Black Americans

police officer, security guard, or

suspended or expelled at 3 times

compared to the national

“vigilante” every 28 hours on

the rate of white students

average of 8%

average in the U.S.

“School Data Finds Pattern of Inequality Along Racial Lines.” The New York Times, 2014.

“What If Black America Were a Country?” The Atlantic, 2014.

“1 Black Man Is Killed Every 28 Hours by Police or Vigilantes” Alternet, 2013.

“I was taught to see racism in

individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.

”

—Peggy McIntosh, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” | 1989

To further complicate the wickedness of this ingrained social issue, white America is taught to see racism only as individual acts of meanness based on the color of someone’s skin, not the invisible systems that perpetuates the dominance of the white majority.19 Most people understand racism as the hatred of people who have a different skin color than their own. In reality, racism is racial prejudice

accompanied by systemic oppression—the latter being often ignored or denied because of our perceived progress in the past 50 years. At the core of majority America’s inability and unwillingness to discuss race issues is a genuine misunderstanding of the meaning of “racism” today. Modern American adults look at a world with less prevalent racial bigotry and assume the problem of racism is, by in large, overcome.

What people need to realize is that interpersonal tolerance will never correct the systemic inequality that is rooted in the very foundation of our society. Individual friendships will not put an end to institutional inequality. The only way to ensure a productive conversation about racism today is by getting majority Americans to understand racism not as interpersonal hatred, but as any social system that disproportionately harms communities of color. As transdisciplinary designers we are working to effect this change through media design.

19 McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” 1989. Print.

Our Strategy Our strategy is to leverage the parent/child relationship to reduce racial bias in young children and reframe parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understanding of modern racism.

For our project, “Critical Creature Cards,” we collaborated with a racial health expert, a children’s media maker, and local parents to design children’s media prompts that facilitate an engaging conversation about race and racism between parent’s and their children, ages 3-7. Even well-intentioned

parents often do not know where to start when discussing issues of race or how to discuss them with young children. They want to teach their children socially progressive ideologies, but feel uncomfortable because they do not know what to say or even how to approach the topic.

“Critical Creature Cards” are trying to find the most approachable way to frame these admittedly difficult conversations to give parents the tools and information they need to help their children. By designing socially critical content in the form of mainstream children’s media we are using a trojan horse tactic— sneaking radical ideologies into the seemingly common-place exchanges between parents and their children. In this way, we are addressing prejudice by reducing implicit racial bias

in children and confronting systemic oppression by reframing how majority Americans understand racism. We see this as a necessary first step if we hope to meaningfully addressing systemic racial inequality at a national level.

Analogous System: Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Get Raped In many ways, our strategy parallels how womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights activists have begun to reframe the dialogue about rape prevention. Rather than telling women how to avoid being raped, the focus has shifted on training men not to rape. Teaching women safety tips and self defense is important, but it places the burden of change on the victim and makes no attempt to resolve the problem of rape culture. Pushing the broader cultural shift to teach men not to sexually objectify and harass women is the only way to create an environment of equality and truly reduce the threat of sexual violence. In that same vein, rather than teaching people of color how to defend themselves against racial prejudice, our project is designed to teaching majority Americans how not to perpetuate racismâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a lesson that can ideally lead to the a sustainable reduction in systemic inequality.

The key to success for this project is taking the complexity of systemic racism and breaking it down to the point a child can understand it. Using the lens of systems thinking, we can take

some of the most prominent manifestation of systemic racism such as white privilege, racial profiling, and cyclical incarceration, and reframe them in ways that are more approachable for parents and understandable for young children. Contradictorily, over-simplification can water down the critical content and reduce impact of the conversation. Although some of these social issue topics are difficult to talk about, ignoring the reality of the situation only serves to perpetuate the problem of systemic racism.

By bringing modern instances of racial inequality to light in a simple but non-accusatory way—in the form of children’s media—we can raise parents’ awareness of the reality of racism today and get them to begin thinking critically about the gaps in our current social system. While most adults in America do not actively support the idea of racial inequality, they inadvertently perpetuate it by contributing to racist systems. Privilege, by definition, blinds those who are not oppressed from seeing the ways in which our system disproportionately harms others.

If our media prompts can encourage parents to take the time to talk through modern racial inequality with their children, it will simultaneously open their eyes to some of the realities that they may ignore, deny, or remain entirely ignorant of. Taking something as instinctually immoral as racial inequality and explaining it to a young child forces parents to confront the reality of systemic racism. Our media prompts are predominantly a tool for cultivating a healthy understanding of race in young children;

what makes â&#x20AC;&#x153;Critical Creature Cardsâ&#x20AC;? particularly innovative, however, is their potential to reframe parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understanding of race and racism, encouraging a more socially sustainable mindset in the current generation of Americans as well as the next.

Our Criteria The most challenging part of our thesis exploration is the constant balancing of opposing necessities: criticality and approachability. To properly educate families about the grim realities of systemic racism we need to be explicit and critical. At the same time, however, our intervention also needs to make mainstream parents comfortable having conversations they are normally uncomfortable approaching. The more critical our message the more uncomfortable parents will be, therefore diminishing our reach. Alternatively, the more approachable we make our message the more we are pandering to the existing social norms which inevitably perpetuates the existing conditions. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Critical Creature Cardsâ&#x20AC;? need to strike the perfect balance of criticality and approachability so that we can provoke the most change while reaching the largest audience.

Our media deliverables need to make parents feel more comfortable and informed about race and race related issues, and keep the children engaged while they learn new, complex, information about the world around them.

Our aim is to produce a tool that is both critical and informative, but also easy to integrate into parents and children’s routines and more entertaining than “the talk.” To be successful, we need to appease two stakeholders—the parents and the child. By meeting the criteria we have established for the physical form of the object, as well as the message being presented by our media, we can begin to prompt the conversations that social science research has proven will lead to more tolerant mindsets.

CONVERSATIONAL

Our Criteria

The object needs to help facilitate a conversation between parents and children

FUN Interesting Narrative

The object needs to be fun for kids to interact with

Allow for Questions

ENGAGING for kids

Playful Visuals

INCLUSIVE

Both the object and message need to be engaging enough to keep kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus

Transferable

Should celebrate diversity and combat stereotypes

PROACTIVE

UNDERSTANDABLE The message should be simple enough for kids to understand otherwise complex issues

The message should actively include socially progressive ideas rather than respond to past incidence

the message

the object

APPROACHABLE The object should create a safe space for discussing taboo topics and make diﬃcult conversations feel natural

INFORMATIVE The object needs to make parent’s feel informed and prepared for conversations around race and racism

VALUABLE The object should be easily accessible and appealing to parents

Provide Info to Answer Questions

for parents

THOROUGH Should address a wide range of issues related to race and racism

Challenge Assumptions about Race Confront Current Issues

EXPLICIT The message should honestly and directly address social inequality and avoid generalities like “everyone is equal”

Discuss Systemic Inequality

CRITICAL The message needs to challenge the interpersonal understanding of racism and help reframe parent’s understanding of modern racism

Our Research

Who? We are targeting families with children age 3-7 because developmental psychology shows that this is a critical point in a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development of implicit bias. Positioning our design intervention in a family context gives us access to both parents and children in order to accomplish both goals of reducing childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bias and reframing parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understanding of racism. Regardless of how diverse a community a child is exposed to, they can and will notice racial differences.20 Social science research shows that without concrete conversations about race young children can pick up implicit racial biases as early as age three and those biases can become ingrained by age seven.21 Where as early age bias is malleable and fairly easy to change, once an implicit bias is ingrained it becomes much more difficult to remove.

20 Bronson, Po, and Ashley Merryman. Nurtureshock: Why Everything We Thought about Children Is Wrong. London: Ebury, 2010. Print. 21 Ibid

Why? Implicit racial bias affect our ability to make snap judgements. Although it happens mostly at an unconscious level, implicit bias can influence everything from employment decisions to law enforcement’s use of deadly force. Related to implicit social cognition, implicit biases are subconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions. Extensive research has proven the effect of implicit racial bias from classrooms, to courtrooms, to hospitals.22 Perhaps most prominently, implicit bias has been shown to have a significant effect on police officer’s split-second decision on whether or not to use deadly force. When tested on whether or not to shoot a potentially armed suspect police officers—and community members alike—had a statistically relevant tendency to shoot unarmed black suspects while being more likely to fail to shoot armed white suspects.23

22 “Understanding Implicit Bias.” Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. 2014. Web. 23 Mooney, Chris. “The Science of Why Cops Shoot Young Black Men.” Mother Jones. 2014. Web.

How? While exposure to diverse communities and inclusive media can help combat the formation of bias, explicit conversations about race are the most effective way to prevent the development of bias in young children. While many parents assume their children will not notice race, several studies have shown that children begin to notice racial differences as early as infancy.24 When parents avoid talking to their children about race it can confuse children into thinking it is wrong to discuss or even notice racial differences. Research by child psychologist Allison Briscoe-Smith suggests that talking to kids and answering questions about race may be one of the most concrete ways to help them understand race issues and become more tolerant.25 Without a concrete dialogue about race and racism children are forced to create their own answers to questions about race—often leading to ridiculous or even offensive ideas.26

24 Marsh, Jason, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, and Jeremy Adam Smith. “Are We Born Racist?: New Insights from Neuroscience and Positive Psychology.” Boston: Beacon, 2010. Print. 25 Ibid 26 Bronson and Merryman. “Nurtureshock: Why Everything We Thought about Children Is Wrong.”

Challenge Research also shows that most parents are too uncomfortable approaching the topic of race to have direct and explicit conversations with their young children. In fact, in a 2007 survey 75% of white parents admitted they were not comfortable talking to their young children about race directly.27 The “colorblind” approach has encouraged parents to avoid the topic of race and instead preach generic messages that “everyone is equal.” Racial integration accompanied by silence will never let us overcome the reality of systemic racism. Teaching another generation of children to avoid the topic of race only creates another generation of parents who cannot comfortably engage with race related issues. These conversations are a fundamental starting point for parents and children to cultivate a healthy mindset about diversity and begin to understand the issue of systemic racism.

27 Bronson and Merryman. Nurtureshock: Why Everything We Thought about Children Is Wrong.

Parent Survey According to our own survey sent to parents in the New York metro area, children start asking questions or making comments about race around the time they begin school. Some parents reported children asking innocent questions about the skin color or the eye shape of people in their class or strangers they meet. Other parents reported more embarrassing situations and still some parents reported being completely horrified when children would ask questions like, “Are all brown men bad?” or claim they are “scared of brown boys”. Parents who reported feeling embarrassed or

uncomfortable by race related questions claimed that they wanted to give articulate and informed responses to correct their child’s mindset but did not know what to say or how to say it. Some parents even described how their child’s misconceptions about race made them feel like a close-minded and under-informed person.

Parent’s that did feel prepared to answer their child’s questions about race pointed to answers like, “isn’t it great we’re all different?” as their go to response. As inclusive as this sentiment may seem, the “everyone is equal” speech ignores the issue of systemic racism today and perpetuates the harmful idea that race does not matter in today’s society.28 These common misconceptions are

28 Bronson and Merryman. “Nurtureshock: Why Everything We Thought about Children Is Wrong.”

exacerbated by today’s media landscape where most children’s media that addresses race place it in a historic context—as if racism ended during the civil rights movement—or return to the “colorblind” message that everyone is equal no matter what they look like. By analyzing existing children’s media and comparing it to our project criteria, we identified a handful of common tropes in children’s literature and television attempting to address the topic of race.

Our Precedents Doc McStuﬃns

Dora the Explorer

Dinosaur Train

38 ‘The Sneeches by Dr. Seuss’

‘I am Rosa Parks’

‘It’s Okay to be Diﬀerent’

‘Chocolate Me!’

Sesame Street

fo r

LU Is it SI I n Re cl VE pr us es ive en in ta it tio ’s ns ?

TI Ap e M VE pr es oa sa ch ge in Pr gR o a ac IN ce? tively

PR OA Is th C

GA Ar e GI M the NG es O sa bje ge c En t an UN gagin d g? DE RS Is TA th Un e M ND de es AB rst sag an e LE da Ea bl sily e?

Is FU th N e Ki O ds bj e ? ct Fu n

F n? acil ita te

OR M

e AT Pe s th IV op e O le b E j Fe ec el t H In el fo p CR rmed ? IT Is th I C AL Cr e M iti es ca sa l? g e So cia lly

PL Is th IC Ad e M IT dr es es sa sin ge g S Ex oc pli TH ial Is citly OR sues Is OU ? th e in M GH Iss es s ue a Co ge v T AP erag horo PR e? ugh OA Do CH es To th AB pi e O cF b LE ee je l A ct pp Ma ro k VA acha e the bl LU Do AB e ? es Di th LE sp e lay Ob it' jec sV tC alu le IN e? arly F

tio

CO NV ER Do SA e TI a C s th ON on e O ve bj AL rs ec a t

Doc McStuffins Shows like Doc McStuffins on Disney Junior are commendable for increasing exposure by prominently featuring underrepresented characters, but because they never talk explicitly about race it is hard for kids to take away any social issue learnings. Doc McStuffins is proactive in it’s attempt to combat common stereotypes regarding gender and racial expectation, but this is only implicitly

Doc McStuﬃns

it IV Re Incl E pr us es ive en in ta it tio ’s ns ?

y Is

CL US

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PR OA Is th C

GA Ar e GI M the NG es O sa bje ge c En t an UN gagin d g? DE RS Is TA th Un e M ND de es AB rst sag an e LE da Ea bl sily e?

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fo r

reducing bias. The show makes not attempt to teach children about race or racism.

RM Do es AT Pe th IV op e O le b E j Fe ec el t H In el fo p CR rmed ? IT Is th I C AL Cr e M iti es ca sa l? g e So cia lly

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tio Fa n? cil ita te EX

CO NV ER Do SA e TI a C s th ON on e O ve bj AL rs ec a t

Dinosaur Train PBS Kids’ Dinosaur Train, on the other hand, talks explicitly about differences and what makes a family but only through the allegory of a dinosaur family which is disconnected from the real world. Dinosaur Train’s potential for social impact comes from it’s ability to teach children to appreciate and respect diversity at a more general level. Sadly, it is difficult for young children to take those teaching and apply

Dinosaur Train

it IV Re Incl E pr us es ive en in ta it tio ’s ns ?

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fo r

them to real world social issues.

RM Do es AT Pe th IV op e O le b E j Fe ec el t H In el fo p CR rmed ? IT Is th I C AL Cr e M iti es ca sa l? g e So cia lly

tio Fa n? cil ita te EX

CO NV ER Do SA e TI a C s th ON on e O ve bj AL rs ec a t

‘I am Rosa Parks’ Finally, books like ‘I am Rosa Parks’ by Brad Meltzer do a spectacular job of addressing race and racism in an explicit and understandable way, but when the story is placed in a historic context it fails to acknowledge the fact that racism is still a current problem. Although ‘I am Rosa Parks’ is a great book to help start a conversation about historic racism and was cited by multiple parents as a book they used to educate their children, teaching children that racism exists predominantly in

‘I am Rosa Parks’

it IV Re Incl E pr us es ive en in ta it tio ’s ns ?

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a historic context hurts their ability to understand racial inequality today.

RM Do es AT Pe th IV op e O le b E j Fe ec el t H In el fo p CR rmed ? IT Is th I C AL Cr e M iti es ca sa l? g e So cia lly

tio Fa n? cil ita te EX

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Speculative Critique: ‘I am Michael Brown’ Brad Meltzer has seen great success with his “I am” book series, which celebrates how ordinary people changed the world, but the subjects he chooses to portray are indicative of the conception of racism white America is comfortable approaching. While his work explicitly addresses systemic racism in stories about Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, and Abraham Lincoln, these are all stories where systemic oppression was successfully overcome by extraordinary individuals. Presenting children only the instances of victory over oppression hides the fact that inequality has not been overcome by all. A story like ‘I am Michael Brown’—a speculative concept illustrated for this project—is instinctually absurd; it is a story no parent would want to read to their child. The implausibility of this story, however, is reflective of the aspects of systemic inequality that modern parents are unwilling to expose their children to or even discuss themselves. 47

‘Chocolate Me!’ Much of the literature that is targeted at children of color, like “Chocolate Me!” by Taye Diggs, preaches the message that “I am okay even though I am different.” This teaches children how to retain self-worth despite the discrimination they might face. While it is undoubtedly beneficial to teach all children to retain self-worth in the face of adversity, this approach is a reaction to discrimination rather than an attempt to address it. Books such as these do not help white children learn to avoid

‘Chocolate Me!’

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TI Ap e M VE pr es oa sa ch ge in Pr gR o a ac IN ce? tivel

PR OA Is th C

GA Ar e GI M the NG es O sa bje ge c En t an UN gagin d g? DE RS Is TA th Un e M ND de es AB rst sag an e LE da Ea bl sily e?

UN th Ki e O ds bj ? ec tF un

fo r

offensive questions or discriminatory behaviors.

RM Do es AT Pe th IV op e O le b E j Fe ec el t H In el fo p CR rmed ? IT Is th I C AL Cr e M iti es ca sa l? g e So cia lly

tio Fa n? cil ita te EX

CO NV ER Do SA e TI a C s th ON on e O ve bj AL rs ec a t

Sesame Street Sesame Street actually fit best with most of our criteria in that it is both fun and engaging, and explicit when addressing issues of inequality; this makes sense because Sesame Street set out to bridge cultural gaps and teach kids about urban diversity. Ultimately, the difference between Sesame Street and our goals for “Critical Creature Cards” is that Sesame Street is a more didactic narrative— speaking to the audience rather than starting a conversation between parents and

Sesame Street

it IV Re Incl E pr us es ive en in ta it tio ’s ns ?

y Is

CL US

TI Ap e M VE pr es oa sa ch ge in Pr gR o a ac IN ce? tivel

PR OA Is th C

GA Ar e GI M the NG es O sa bje ge c En t an UN gagin d g? DE RS Is TA th Un e M ND de es AB rst sag an e LE da Ea bl sily e?

UN th Ki e O ds bj ? ec tF un

fo r

children.

RM Do es AT Pe th IV op e O le b E j Fe ec el t H In el fo p CR rmed ? IT Is th I C AL Cr e M iti es ca sa l? g e So cia lly

tio Fa n? cil ita te EX

CO NV ER Do SA e TI a C s th ON on e O ve bj AL rs ec a t

Our Iterations Initial Ideation The project started with the decision to focus on race and racism because we thought that is was the most taboo social issue for families to discuss.

Friendship wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end systemic racism

Focus on educating white families

Early Drafts

1st Toy 52

1st Book

2nd Book

2nd Toy

Big Pic. Book

First Prototype Our ďŹ rst full prototype included plush dolls, a storybook, an educational book for kids, and accompanying educational literature for parents.

Playtest

Card Box Set

Branding 53

First Prototype

Storybook Our first prototype Storybook was targeted at kids ages 3 to 5. Children at that age are just learning to put things into categories, and they tend to put categorise others based on external appearances; this is called in-group theory.29 One way to help combat the formation of implicit biases is to teach children how to categorize individuals in more complex ways that physical appearance or skin color. Our Storybook follows a character who learns to group friends based on characteristics and interests rather than physical traits.

29 Bronson and Merryman. Nurtureshock: Why Everything We Thought about Children Is Wrong.

MY LITTLE MONSTERS! Friends that Match

But it is important to remember that people can be whoever they want to be regardless of their skin color.

First Prototype

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Big Pictureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Book The Big Picture book was designed to follow the Storybook as a more direct discussion of real-world problems. The Big Picture book talks about various issues revolving around race and skin color including why people have different colored skin, the history of racial inequality, and the fact that although things may seem better today systemic racism is still a problem. The goal of the Big Picture book is to connect the story of the monsters with the social realities of today in a way that kids will understand and parents will feel comfortable talking about.

First Prototype

Plush Dolls In addition to the two books, we designed plush dolls in the form of monsters with different skin colors, shapes, and horns. These dolls are meant to serve as a totemic reminder of the conversations that took place around the Storybook and the Big Picture book. The goal is to have a physical toy that a child can play with outside of the context of the conversation, that will give a tangible form to the ideas that were discussed. The toy can also be given to the child before the story is read as insensitive to engage with the story.

First Prototype

Parent’s Literature Finally, the accompanying literature for parents includes various tips on having conversations around race, why these conversations are necessary, and how to react when children ask questions about race. It was designed to convey the value of the other media prompts and help parent’s use the objects effectively. The information presented in the Parent’s Literature was taken from NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman as well as a BabyCenter.com article, ‘How to Talk to Your Child About Race.’

Entertainment

TOYS

Kid s STORY BOOK

Pa ren ts BIG PICTURE BOOK PARENTS LITERATURE

Social Impact 62

First Prototype

Media Relationship The four deliverables from the first prototype fall on a spectrum of entertainment value and social impact to bridge the gap between criticality and approachability. The toys were designed to be the most entertaining but the least overtly socially consciousness. The storybook has a positive moral, but is mainly used to create a smooth transition to the more educationally-focused Big Picture book, which, along with the parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literature, was meant to help parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lead a conversation about race. These various deliverables were designed to fit the needs of our two user groups in different ways. The plush was predominantly for children and the educational literature was just for parents. The storybook and Big Picture book, however, were the spaces that overlap where the parents and children converse and interact with each other.

First Prototype

User Playtest After building out prototypes of each of these four media prompts we had the opportunity to playtest our products with a family in Brooklyn. While the parent we were testing with supported the concept of the media prompts, her two daughters (age 3 and 6) and their friend (age 6) were completely disengaged from the storybook. The older girls were able to identify the story arc almost immediately, and lost interest because of the apparent clicheness of the narrative. After finishing the storybook, when asked if they wanted to move on to the Big Picture book, the girls protested and requested to read something else. After a short break we did, quickly, go through the Big Picture bookâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;moments of which the older girls seemed to be much more interested in. Although the Big Picture book

was able to elicit some questions from the older children, the structure of the narrative prevented our parent from addressing those questions when they arose. The information provided in the Big Picture book also failed to facilitate a discussion after prompting curiosity, leaving our parent with no satisfactory answers to their childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s questions about racism. Inevitably the rigidness of the narrative prevented the very conversations we had set out to start.

The shortcomings of our playtest allowed us to see that we put too much focus into attempting to mimic existing media formats rather than developing our own innovative and effective media product based on the project criteria. As we moved into prototyping we were attempting to play the

role of author, illustrator, and toy designer, and lost sight of the critical design strategy behind the products. We got so caught up in this “making” wormhole that the content of our products began to become more and more diluted because of our own lack of expertise in children’s media making. Our playtest exposed just how ineffective our deliverable had become in meeting the objectives of the project.

While we initially, attempted to be “transdisciplinary” by filling all the roles ourselves, the glorious failure of our first prototype—labeled “boooooooorring” by one of our playtester—reminded us that designing transdisciplinarily is about collaborating across disciplines, not having the capacity to fill every role in a design project. We took the failure of our first prototypes as a pivot point to reorient our deliverables to better meet the criteria we established for the project. Rather than attempting to design and create an entire media ecosystem, we began ideating how smaller scale media interventions could more effectively meet our metrics for success. Our primary concern needed to be with the objective

of each product rather than the object itself. Reframing of our role in the project allowed us to think as strategists first and makers second, rather than the other way around.

Our Iterations

First Prototype Friendship wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end systemic racism

Initial Ideation

Need user testing to test assumptions

Early Drafts

1st Toy 68

Focus on educating white families

1st Book

2nd Book

2nd Toy

Big Pic. Book

Second Prototype All these insights and prototypes lead to the current iteration of our design of "Critical Creature Cards," which is composed of three components: Parent's Literature, Finger Puppets, and, most importantly, the Flashcards.

Main goal is to teach a “Critical Consciousness”

Narrative structure limits conversation Need to focus more on objective, not the object Simplify design to increase eﬃciency

Playtest

Card Box Set

Branding 69

Second Prototype

Parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Literature Similar to the first prototype of the parents literature, this brochure of information provides a quick explanation of implicit racial bias and tells parents how and when to start having critical conversations about race with their children. In this iteration we attempted to make the language more congratulatory and less intimidating to increase parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; comfort approaching the product.

Second Prototype

Finger Puppets As an evolution of the Plush Dolls, the Finger Puppets increase engagement by encouraging interaction. Unlike the Plush Dolls, the Finger Puppets are at the scale of the characters in the story to create a stronger connection between the toy and the other childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media. The ability to wear the Finger Puppets also increases transferability, letting children role-play as the characters and providing an alternate persona for parents to assume if they become uncomfortable approaching certain topics themselves.

Second Prototype

Flashcards Finally, the Flashcards take the concept of the Storybook and the Big Picture book and combine them into one deliverable. Flashcards have two sides, one story-side for kids (with content similar to the Storybook) accompanied by a conversation prompt and talking points for parents (similar to the Big Picture book). Each Flashcard addresses a specific learning opportunity regarding race or racism. Rather than having to speak generally to connect a series of learning

opportunities in one story arc, the Flashcards let us discuss specific issues with concrete examples and explicit question prompts. The structure of the Flashcards allowed us to address a wider range of issues and go into more detail about each topic because we were no longer forced to make one continuous narrative as we were with the Storybook and the Big Picture Book.

Story Side Creature Statement

Flashcard Breakdown

Story Vignette

Interaction Cue

Conversation Prompt Prompt Question

Talking Points with Visual Aids

The Flashcards also set a less rigid narrative for Parent’s to follow, adding the ability to choose what topics are discussed in which order, and prompting a real-world conversation about race and racism throughout the narrative rather than after the story has been read. The short form “Story Vignettes” on the story side of the Flashcards provided a brief allegorical lesson in the form of a creature story to start the conversation. We found that the creature allegories were more approachable for parents and more entertaining for children than stories featuring humans. Unlike people, “creatures”

carry no social stigmas about how they might behave so unfair treatment and assumptions become blatantly apparent. Would you expect one red creature to like sports just because other red creatures like sports? No, of course not. That would be ridiculous. When the conversation is then pulled back into the real world, the creature allegory reveals how ridiculous many of our own interactions with other groups of peoples actually are.

The story side of each card ends with an interaction cue that encourages children to use the finger puppets to address the problem presented in the story or discuss their thoughts on the situation. This is meant to increase engagement through interaction and play. By role-playing as the creatures

in the stories, children are building their own cognitive ability to place themselves in other people’s shoes and understand an event from multiple perspectives—the foundation of empathetic thinking. This will, ideally, increase 78

children’s ability to then empathize with the human characters once the conversation is transitioned into the real-world.

The opposing side of the Flashcard—designed to be parent facing but shared between parent and child—has a prompt question followed by talking points to guide a conversation. The prompt

question helps parents shift the conversation from the story-world into the real-world. The rest of the card provides some brief talking points and visual aids to support the parent through a conversation and answer any follow up questions a child might pose. While the story side is predominantly for children and the prompt side is for parents, the relationship is similar to the Storybook and Big Picture book from our first prototype—a shared space for parents and children, not two separate spheres. The illustrations used on the prompt side of the Flashcard are stylistically similar to the character design of the creatures to ensure that the content on the “parents’ side” of the Flashcards can be shared with children.

We have produced 7 prototype flashcards plus a title card, but ideally the pack could include up to 20 cards addressing a range of issues from differences in race-based physical traits to disproportionate incarceration rates. We attempted to create a spectrum of conversation points that could be built upon over time to give children, and parents, a full understanding of race and racism. While there is no set order for the Flashcards, the deck starts with a simple introduction of the idea of race, then explains why we have different skin colors, and eventually builds into ideas about stereotyping, privilege, and racial profiling.

These various components of the “Critical Creature Cards” box set work together to efficiently address the full range of our criteria for the project. The Parent’s literature conveys the value of the product and informs parents on how to use the conversation prompts. The story side of the Flashcards proactively addresses instances of stereotyping, discrimination, and privilege in an understandable way. The prompt side of the Flashcards include an explicit and critical message about the real-world situation, and the Finger puppets serve as a fun way to increase children’s engagement through interactivity and play.

Flashcards Concept Outline Race 1. People come in all different skin colors 2. Skin color is based on where your ancestors are from 3. Skin Color isn’t the Only Difference a) Some people have different shaped eyes b) Some people have different textured hair 4. You should be friends with everyone regardless of how they look 5. Some families look the same and other families do not a) Mixed Race Families 6. Be careful about using demeaning or stereotypical language a) “Oriental” / “Exotic” / “Spicy” / “Urban” 7. Avoid labeling to reinforce stereotypes 8. Don’t assume someone with a different skin color is from somewhere else 9. Don’t assume things about class or status based on skin color 10. Not everyone who looks the same will act the same

Racism 11. Identifying prejudice 12. Fighting interpersonal racial prejudice a) Be an ally not a bystander 13. Identifying institutional racism 14. Geographic Segregation / Isolation 15. How race can affect access to opportunities a) Privilege and professional networking 16. Who’s not here? The privilege of inclusion. 17. Being suspicious of someone because of their skin color a) Racial Profiling 18. Who makes the rules and how they affect people disproportionately a) How rules are enforced - police profiling 19. Unequal punishment for the same crime a) Disproportionate incarceration rates 20. Solidarity is the best answer

The object needs to help facilitate a conversation between parents and children

ER PUPPET G IN

FUN

Criteria Comparison

CONVERSATIONAL

The object needs to be fun for kids to interact with

ENGAGING INCLUSIVE

Both the object and message need to be engaging enough to keep kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus

Should celebrate diversity and combat stereotypes

E SCENA TUR R A E

S IO

for kids

PROACTIVE

UNDERSTANDABLE The message should be simple enough for kids to understand otherwise complex issues

The message should actively include socially progressive ideas rather than respond to past incidence

the message

the object

The object should create a safe space for discussing taboo topics and make diﬃcult conversations feel natural

T NT LI ERATUR E R

APPROACHABLE

INFORMATIVE

VALUABLE

The object needs to make parent’s feel informed and prepared for conversations around race and racism

The object should be easily accessible and appealing to parents

for parents

THOROUGH

EXPLICIT The message should honestly and directly address social inequality and avoid generalities like “everyone is equal”

N SATIO PROM R P VE

CO N

Should address a wide range of issues related to race and racism

CRITICAL The message needs to challenge the interpersonal understanding of racism and help reframe parent’s understanding of modern racism

Second Prototype

Initial Feedback We are currently in the process of playtesting this iteration with some local families and have received some feedback on the second prototype; the responses seem generally positive. Informal testing

has indicated that the cards—accompanied by the finger puppets—were more engaging and entertaining for kids, while providing a more flexible conversation framework for parents. Parent’s were much more active in choosing the order they brought up each card than we assumed, skipping some cards and starting with topics we saw as less approachable. Testing the Finger Puppets with children showed much more engagement than we saw with the plush dolls and immediate role playing. Children began having conversations between the creatures through the Finger Puppets, commenting on skin color and discrimination. While the initial testing of our second prototype proves to be more promising than our first playtest, to take “Critical Creature Cards” to the next level we need to partner with an organization like Racial Equity Tools to help develop and produce the full set of cards for thorough user testing.

Second Prototype: Parent Testimonials General Feedback: “Wow this is great—we really don’t talk to her [their 6 year old daughter] about this stuff. Just on Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday I tried to say something, but it’s never the right thing. I just usually sit and hope things are better when they grow up...” In reference to the card addressing police profiling: “This one is intense... but it’s exactly what is happening. It’s intense and it’s the truth. It’s right on.”

Our Impact While we are working in the space of race and racism the primary objective of our media prompts is to facilitate a meaningful family discussion. In the short term, this will reduce childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s likelihood to develop bias, expose families to more socially progressive ideas, and reframe how parents understand racism today. Accomplishing that, we can teach the next generation to have a more socially sustainable mindset regarding race, and begin to change the current conversation around racism and structural discrimination. Those long-term goals feed into our overarching mission, which is to normalize a mindset of self reflection and systemic awareness that generates social consciousness. While this â&#x20AC;&#x153;Critical Consciousnessâ&#x20AC;? alone will not put

an end to systemic racial inequality, it is an important first step in enabling modern Americans to engage with racism and change the way individuals see their role in the fight for equality.

ISSUE SPACE Design Objective

Long term

Socially normalize a “Critical Consciousness”

Short term

Campaign Goals

Our Mission

RACE AND RACISM

Teach the next generation to have a more sustainable mindset regarding race

Reduce implicit racial bias in young children

Change the current conversation around race and racism

Expose families to more socially radical ideologies

Reframe parents’ understanding of modern racism

Facilitate a meaningful family discussion about race and racism 87

Short term

Long term

Facilitate a meaningful family discussion about sexuality and homophobia

ISSUE SPACE Long term Short term

Campaign Goals

Our Mission

Change the current conversation around sexual preference

Expose families to more socially radical ideologies

Reduce implicit ability bias in young children

Reframe parents’ understanding of modern homophobia

Change the current conversation around ability and access

Reframe parents’ understanding of ableism

Expose families to more socially radical ideologies

ISSUE SPACE

RELIGION AND ETHNOCENTRISM

Our Mission

Socially normalize a “Critical Consciousness”

Reduce implicit LGBQ bias in young children

Teach the next generation to have a more sustainable mindset regarding ability

Facilitate a meaningful family discussion about ability and access

Socially normalize a “Critical Consciousness”

Long term

ISSUE SPACE Our Mission

SEXUALITY AND HOMOPHOBIA

Teach the next generation to have a more sustainable mindset regarding sexuality

Socially normalize a “Critical Consciousness”

Design Objective

Reframe parents’ understanding of modern sexism

Expose families to more socially radical ideologies

Facilitate a meaningful family discussion about gender and sexism

Design Objective

Campaign Goals

Change the current conversation around gender and sexism

Campaign Goals

Reduce implicit gender bias in young children

ACCESS AND ABLEISM

Short term

Teach the next generation to have a more sustainable mindset regarding gender

Design Objective

ISSUE SPACE Short term

Long term

Socially normalize a “Critical Consciousness”

Design Objective

Campaign Goals

Our Mission

GENDER IDENTITY AND SEXISM

Teach the next generation to have a more sustainable mindset towards other cultures

Reduce implicit cultural bias in young children

Change the current conversation around religion and culture

Expose families to more socially radical ideologies

Facilitate a meaningful family discussion about religion and ethnocentrism

Reframe parents’ understanding of ethnocentrism

What is really amazing about this model for social change is that while the issue space might shift the general framework for reframing the mainstream perspective remains the same. The “Critical

Consciousness” we are hoping to inspire in parents and children is ultimately a more concrete way to build empathy and encourage mindfulness regarding one’s own social impact. The interchangeability of the issue space we are addressing reinforces the idea that our penultimate goal is not to “solve racism,” but to start a conversation and open people’s understanding of “us” vs. “them”—a valuable first step in addressing any form of inequality. This interchangeability fits well with our long term plan for expanding “Critical Creature Cards” to address a wide range of social issue topics such as gender, sexuality, ability, and religious and cultural discrimination.

Making Things Right, By Design

Most of the media outputs we are designing—toys, storybooks, and educational literature for parents and children—already exist on the market. These media outputs, however, are seldom created and sold in tandem. Educational literature for parents is developed by child psychologists. Social criticism voiced by activists. Children’s media created by toy designers and children’s authors. Despite the overwhelming interconnectivity, few parties are looking at media, psychological development, socialization, and systemic racism from a holistic perspective. By collaborating with activists, psychologists,

and children’s media makers we—as transdisciplinary designers—can develop a horizontally integrated media experience rather than attempting to address these interconnected issues in isolation. The success of the “Critical Creature Cards” could prove to activists that collaboration with the mainstream leads to larger reach for their message,

while simultaneously showing media makers that socially responsible materials are as marketable as the normative alternative. “Critical Creature Cards” blurs the line between entertainment and advocacy, redefining how designed media can contribute to social change movements.

In his 1982 book, “By Design,” Ralph Caplan defines design as “a process for making things right, for shaping what people need.”30 While most white parents do not want their children to be racists, they themselves do not have a full enough understanding of racism to address this problem. What they need is a support system that makes them feel comfortable approaching race and a fuller understanding of systemic racism so they can teach their children to have a progressive attitude towards race and equality. “Critical Creature Cards” were designed to address this need. In a world where the complex interdependence of every object and person ensures that even the smallest gesture can have global social and environmental ramifications,31 designers must acknowledge the impact of our interventions and ensure that our work is helping to make things right. Design can plead ignorance no more; we can no longer allow our industry to mass-produce novelties that the public is perceived to want. Designers need to acknowledge the systems that we are contributing to and design accordingly to give form to what people actually need.

30 Caplan, Ralph. “By Design: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis XIV, and Other Object Lessons.” New York, NY: St. Martin’s, 1982. Print. 31 Hunt, Jamer. “Letter from the Editor.” The Journal of Design Strategies. 2012. Web.

“The world is on fire and many of us

believe that design can play a role in extinguishing some of the blaze.

”

—Jamer Hunt, “Letter from the Editor.” The Journal of Design Strategies | 2012

Most media, and in fact most design, reacts to the “wants” of the majority. Our project, however, is proactive in providing what families need to make social equality a modern reality. While the “Critical Creature Cards” might be small in scale and scope, they begin to reveal the power media has to shape our cultural understanding of gender, class, sexuality, and race. More than anything, with this

project, I believe that Rachael and I have show how design can be utilized as a process for “making things right.” Not just making things pretty, or making things functional, but truly leading the push for social change at the interpersonal and systemic level.

Nothing in the designed world is the way it has to be, it only is the way we made it. Design both figuratively and literally shapes the world around us—through stories, through objects, through buildings, through services, through policy, through films and cities and monuments. It is both daunting and empowering to realize that regardless of what others might want or demand, the designer who give ideas tangible form has the final say in what gets made real. With this power,

comes a responsibility to remain mindful of the social protocols we are implicitly or explicitly perpetuating, but—better yet—it provides designers the opportunity to create new protocols that can make the world a better place.

Designers are the modern storytellers that craft our understanding of the world. Every design decision is an opportunity to confirm, combat, or question elements of the normalized social protocol. The implications of these decisions define the shared ideologies of our cultural systems. If we want to live in a more equal and socially enlightened society we need to design a world that fits that ideal. Thoughtful design can make things right by making things right. This is the true power designers holdâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;how design can help save a world on fire.

Work Cited Baldwin, James. “James Baldwin on The Dick Cavett Show, 1968.” The Dick Cavett Show. 1968. Video. Barnes, Brooks. “Disney Finds a Cure for the Common Stereotype With ‘Doc McStuffins’.” The New York Times. 2012. Web. Bronson, Po, and Ashley Merryman. Nurtureshock: Why Everything We Thought about Children Is Wrong. London: Ebury, 2010. Print. Caplan, Ralph. “By Design: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis XIV, and Other Object Lessons.” New York, NY: St. Martin’s, 1982. Print. Clausen, John A. “Socialization and Society” Boston: Little, Brown, 1968. Print. Gaider, David. “A Character Like Me.” Polygon. 2014. Web. @GeekGirlDiva. “How ‘Star Wars Rebels’ Earns an A+ on the Bechdel Test.” EW.com. 2014. Web. Gonzalez-Mena, Janet, and Janet Gonzalez-Mena. “Child, Family, and Community: Family-centered Early Care and Education” Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Pearson, 2009. Print. Hall, Stuart, “Representation & The Media” Media Education Foundation. 1997. Video Hudson, Adam. “1 Black Man Is Killed Every 28 Hours by Police or Vigilantes: America Is Perpetually at War with Its Own People” Alternet, 2013. Web Hudson, Laura. “The Videogame That Finally Made Me Feel Like a Human Being.” Wired.com. 2014. Web. Hunt, Jamer. “Letter from the Editor.” The Journal of Design Strategies. 2012. Web. Johnson, Theodore R. “What If Black America Were a Country?” The Atlantic, 2014. Web

Marsh, Jason, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, and Jeremy Adam Smith. “Are We Born Racist?: New Insights from Neuroscience and Positive Psychology.” Boston: Beacon, 2010. Print. McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” 1989. Print. Mey. “”Steven Universe” and the Importance of All-Ages Queer Representation.” Autostraddle. 2015. Web. Mooney, Chris. “The Science of Why Cops Shoot Young Black Men.” Mother Jones. 2014. Web. Moskovitz, Diana. “No More, The NFL’s Domestic Violence Partner, Is A Sham.” Deadspin. 2015. Web. MTV News Staff. “Why Is MTV Black-And-White?” MTV News. Viacom International Inc. 2015. Web. Mustakova-Possardt, Elena. “Critical Consciousness: A Study of Morality in Global, Historical Context” Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. Print. Rich, Motoko. “School Data Finds Pattern of Inequality Along Racial Lines.” The New York Times, 2014. Web. Sanders, Sam. “Starbucks Will Stop Putting The Words ‘Race Together’ On Cups.” NPR. 2015. Web. Weekes, Patrick. “Building a Character: Cremisius “Krem” Aclassi.” BioWare Blog. 2014. Web. “The Global Religious Landscape.” Pew Research Center’s Religion Public Life Project. 2012. Web. “Understanding Implicit Bias.” Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. 2014. Web.

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