12
LO N GFO RM
Women of graphic design (and why we need to keep talking about them)
Words — Tori Hinn Women of Graphic Design
It is often the subject of discussion, academically and informally, that the presence of female designers missing from the history of graphic design is a sore oversight of the profession. And while we can claim more progressive (and equal) laws and beliefs in present day society, the disparity between male and female representation in design lingers on. But why is retrospective accreditation important? And, if it is getting better, do we need to keep talking about it?
in the design field? To better understand these questions, I sought out different voices from within the spectrum of graphic design.
It’s the spring of 2011 and I am sitting in History of Graphic Design, a lecture course at my design school. We are learning about the many designers and movements essential to the narrative of graphic design. Designers’ names are listed on a page, hundreds of them. It’s so subtle; I almost miss it. Later on, I count the names – 323 independent designers listed, 22 women. In the History of Graphic Design, my classmates and I have been learning about just 22 women. That is only six percent of the overall canon. Surely this is a mistake. The National Education Association reports of 2011 estimated that 54 percent of all US designers in the profession are women.1 In the UK, it is lower, although the Design Council research found that 70 percent of design students in the UK are women, but 60 percent of the industry is male.2 I was curious to explore the reductive process by which these female majorities dwindle. Forty or 50 years ago, the workforce was overwhelmingly a man’s world. In the design field, many women may have been assistants or ‘office girls’ and so few held the top titles, such as art director or creative director. In a basic sense, women’s careers have rarely followed the same path as men’s, since there has historically been immense pressure placed on women to be solely homemakers and nurture families,3 with more sinister pressures of socially-accepted sexism and segregation discouraging, or even disqualifying, the career ambitions of capable women. There is a line of forgotten women in our history. I argue that sexism is somewhat less obvious in our workplace today, far subtler than it might have been in the 1950s and 60s, but perhaps we still accept some mores of old, underlying currents that flow through our design culture, much like that lecture in 2011.
Starting at the source Why is it important to talk about the women of graphic design, specifically? What are the issues women still face
Design history and education Design history has long overlooked women in our narrative, despite continually having a large group of women active in the field of graphic design over the past century.4 Lucinda Hitchcock is a professor in Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), as well as a member of the Design Office in Providence, Rhode Island. “For me, it has to do with the imbalance of genders in the educational environment and in the framework of the design history that is being taught,” Hitchcock explains. Careful to point out it may not be the same situation in all design schools, Hitchcock adds, “Why does design history still teach about male designers 80 percent more than women designers? Why do we have 80 percent women in the student body (in our [RISD] department) and 80 percent men in the faculty?” In the US, some 70 percent of design students are female, yet their education is scattered with gaps. Teal Triggs and Sian Cook, of the Women’s Design + Research Unit in the UK, explain, “For far too long, history has either marginalised or excluded many women from being entered into the design history books and, as a result, the design canon. Whilst acknowledging that over the last decade such gender concerns have begun to be readdressed by historians, educators and the design profession at large, much more can still be done.” “Not enough women designers are given the recognition that they deserve,” says graphic designer Antonio Carusone. “Take for example Jacqueline S Casey. She is primarily responsible for bringing the International Typographic Style to the US, and her work is just as brilliant as [ Josef] MüllerBrockmann’s, [Wim] Crouwel’s, [Emil] Ruder’s… but, for some reason, her name is left out most of the time.” Carusone believes that revealing only part of our history fails to fully inform our designers. “It’s important that these women get the recognition, because they were and are part of the history that’s shaping graphic design. Everyone needs to learn about them and their work, especially young designers. If not, then there’s just this big gap that doesn’t tell the entire story of graphic design.” Should it matter to the structure of design education if the majority of design students are female? Is it a matter of fairness that emerging designers require encouragement, and part of that is seeing their sex represented in the professional field and in the teaching of design? Brockett Horne, a designer and the chair of Graphic Design at
desktop jun/jul 14 — desktopmag.com.au
40402_12-16_longform_c.indd 12
14/04/14 10:39 AM
womenofgraphicdesign.org
Left: The work of Lucinda Hitchcock, professor in Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Right: Jacqueline S Casey is “primarily responsible for bringing the International Typographic Style to the US” says Antonio Carusone
Maryland Institute College of Art, believes young female designers could greatly benefit from a change in the exposure and representation of women in graphic design. “I know from the classroom that student designers are thirsty for diverse insights on design methodologies, outcomes and advice on how to create a strong life and work balance,” Horne explains. “I’d like to see females become more confident in publishing their process, ideas and experiences. I see this as a continuity of tradition that we have inherited from the artists and designers who fought hard for us to sit at the table. “Problems still perpetuate if the media only represents those with the highest profiles, if conference organisers don’t do their research to discover new and relevant voices, if education doesn’t look at a range of role models, if teachers ignore discussions on gender and representation. Then, we are not taking our responsibility as designers,
40402_12-16_longform_c.indd 13
as a profession, as educators, and our duty to the public, seriously enough.” So, talking about issues for women in design is not only important for students, but for the educators that advise them. Denise Gonzales Crisp, chair of Graphic Design at the College of Design, North Carolina State University, says, “[Look at] salary discrepancy between males and females in education. [In] almost every institution I’ve looked at, the women earned on average anywhere from $5000 to $10,000 less in the same positions [held by men]. So that inequality we experience generally out in the world is also reflected in education. “Right now, my classroom is probably filled with 80 percent women. And yet when I go out into the world, or when you hear from business owners or from creative directors, it’s not the same percentage. What is that, why is that? We can only guess.”
14/04/14 10:39 AM
24
ACT IV IT Y
Designer: Carla McKee Student: Chelsea Tucker
“THE FEAR OF FAILURE IS OVERWHELMING”
We started our conversations surrounding ideas of feeling overwhelmed, drowning, flooding, falling, tides, inflation and darkness. At the studio we had a number of Perspex sheets around. We started experiments using this Perspex to create invisible layers in which we could suspend objects, type and pretty much anything else we could find that had transparent properties. We felt as though the layers and depth created were good at conveying the feeling of being overwhelmed, but we were still
unsure if the images we were getting were at all relevant to fear of failure. From here we went back to research and really investigated what fear looked like. There was a lot of Hitchcock involved. We summed it up in the end by concluding that what we needed was more Vertigo kind of fear than a Psycho blood and screaming kind. Chelsea felt it would be great to have a structure that works with the layers to intensify the feeling of fear. We kept coming back to vortexes and spinning abstract images.
This is when we started printing on acetate. This way we could really try bending, twisting and morphing the letters to create uneasy compositional arrangements. The levels of Perspex allowed us to create a sort of suspended moment of falling though a fear of failure. “Drowning, feeling vertigo, being completely distracted and overwhelmed by fear of failure, so much so that it gives you designer’s block? I remember it well.” – Carla McKee
desktop jun/jul feb/mar1414——desktopmag.com.au desktopmag.com.au
40402_21-31_exchange.indd 24
14/04/14 10:44 AM
40402_21-31_exchange.indd 25
14/04/14 10:44 AM
54
F E ATU RE
ANSWER LUKE BROWN ––––––– The main challenges facing a design graduate are primarily numbers. You are entering an already oversaturated industry, competing for 0.5 percent share of available dream jobs, with five percent of them being slightly less desirable, and 10 percent being bearable. That leaves 84.5 percent of jobs out there that simply don’t exist. (I made these stats up, but I imagine the theory is somewhat viable.) In most graduates I meet, I find there are two main issues: they have great ideas, but lack the technical ability to communicate them effectively; or they are technically proficient, but lack exceptional ideas. Is one worse than the other? I would say that you can teach someone the technical aspects of the job while on the job, but it’s far greater an investment for the employers to teach someone how to think. The catch is that a graduate designer’s role is to output work at a particular level of proficiency without having their hand held the entire time. To meet this, technical ability can be self-initiated and there are plenty of skills-based learning institutes and online courses that can help, although they struggle to support and shape the way you problem solve and arrive at inventive solutions. So, with these odds the way they are, how do you find the right job for you and how do you go about getting it? Well… I should note that when I graduated I didn’t
“WILL I BE GOOD ENOUGH TO GET A JOB?” get my dream job. But I did get a job that was right for me at the time, whether I knew it or not. If there was an even playing field, and all graduates were of the same technical proficiency and problem solving abilities, how would you stand out from the crowd? This is the important question to ask yourself: what makes you unique? Find something that is particular to you, whether it’s a technical ability or a personal style, and use it as a marketing tool. Let’s say you have your own illustration technique or you’ve spent countless hours creating custom typefaces. Perhaps you have a knack for
“ Find something that is particular to you, whether it’s a technical ability or a personal style, and use it as a marketing tool… these skills don’t have to directly relate to design, but they can be transferable.”
creative writing or photography, or you may be good at building things – these skills don’t have to directly relate to design, but they can be transferable. It’s these ‘other’ skills sets that will set you apart, so don’t leave them out of your folio or resumé. It’s always refreshing to see the ‘something else’ at the back of the folio, something personal. Another piece of advice would be to make it easy for your potential employer to see your work. If it’s a website, it should be simple and easy to navigate. PDFs should be concise. If you get an interview, be a nice person. If a studio feels you’re going to be nice to have around, then they are more likely to hire you, no matter how good your folio is. As a graduate, you have to have a certain amount of confidence in your abilities balanced with a healthy dose of humility. Don’t take yourself too seriously and be open to critique. If you don’t get a job, keep creating, self-initiate projects, be involved and active in the design community. Just don’t give up. The global design community seems to respect initiative and motivation. It worked for me. Luke Brown is a designer and art director based in Melbourne, Australia.
desktop jun/jul 14 — desktopmag.com.au
40402_46-56_feature.indd 54
14/04/14 11:04 AM
ANSWER ANITA RYLEY
––––––– It has been 12 years since I graduated, so it is safe to say there have been substantial changes to the industry. Today’s design graduates face a different set of challenges and the most obvious to me is competition. At the risk of sounding old, ‘back in my day’ there were really only a few core graphic design university degrees and a handful of graphic art TAFE-based courses that specialised in developing extremely talented finished artists. Combined, these courses produced more than enough graduates to fill the limited design positions available. Now there are university, TAFE and private colleges all producing hundreds of graduates of various skill levels. Needless to say there are still limited junior positions available, so competition is fierce. With such limited entry level job opportunities in the design industry today, graduates need to stand out. It’s a given that they need a well-executed and meticulously crafted folio, but in reality that is not enough anymore. At Seesaw we always look for designers with originality and a strong point of view. Design is all about communication and creatively solving a problem. It is not all about style, trends or aesthetically pleasing solutions that lack substance. Conceptual thought is
40402_46-56_feature.indd 55
“Design is all about communication and creatively solving a problem. It is not all about style, trends or aesthetically pleasing solutions that lack substance.” integral as today’s graduates also need to consider design across a multitude of touch points and platforms, from identity and print though to digital and spatial. Whether you are a digital designer or a designer obsessed with the printed form, you need to consider the big picture and how all iterations of a brand will seamlessly work together. Most of all, we look for conceptual thinkers that can offer something genuinely unique, both in their design aesthetic, but also in their work ethic, personality and life outside of design. We do not expect you to be amazing at all facets of design, but an understanding and love for the craft as a whole is integral if you wish to work within a team environment.
So, how to find a job? We always say the following: It’s a no brainer, have a killer folio. Carefully select only your best conceptual work that you are happy to discuss. Your folio itself, whether digital or printed, should be well-designed and executed. Everything should be meticulous. Do your research. Understand our industry and the type of studio you want to work for, then approach them personally. Be an interesting person. Designers work in small teams of like-minded individuals and often spend long hours together. We need to be able to constantly challenge and inspire each other. As a result, we always hire based on a balance of personality fit and design capability. Have great communication skills. More often than not you’ll need to confidently sell your idea to senior staff and sometimes directly to the client. Gain experience. Visit studios and, if possible, try to obtain a paid intern position. This will allow you to gain valuable contacts within the industry and also ascertain the type of design environment that works for you. Remember that your design education allows you to become so much more than just a designer in a studio. There are also design positions available in-house in the fashion, retail and corporate sectors. There are also studio management and account management roles available for those of you who may not want to be a hands-on designer, but still wish to work within a design environment. There is not a singular career path in design, so keep your mind and your options open. Get involved in the industry. We are so lucky to have such a friendly and supportive design community. Attend events, meet people and talk about design. It is often through your design network that you find available positions. It’s not luck that will find you a design position; it’s hard work. But I can certainly wish you a little luck all the same. Good luck! z Anita Ryley is a partner and creative director at Seesaw, and vice president for the Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) Victoria.
14/04/14 11:04 AM