12 comments

  • Miroslav BekyarovMiroslav Bekyarov, 8 years ago

    I didn't know design had a race.

    10 points
    • Jacob TaylorJacob Taylor, 8 years ago

      It's not the exact same issue, but this quote seems permanent

      “Black lives matter” is a statement of specific concern; police violence is most acute against black Americans, and so activists stress the importance of their lives. To reply with “all lives matter” is to suggest there’s no specific problem of police abuse targeted at black Americans. It’s as if someone responded to an annual breast cancer drive with “Breast cancer matters. Prostate cancer matters. All cancer matters.” It sounds like a dismissal, and that’s how it was received.

      4 points
      • Kyle GillenKyle Gillen, 8 years ago

        It's not the same issue at all. 'Black lives matter' is a response to police officers handling minorities in a different manner to which they handle the majority - where there is seemingly a clear divide.

        No one in design / architecture (at least not notably) is pulling projects from non-white architects because they're not white. I agree that race is an issue and it needs to be talked about, but there are forums where it makes more sense than others.

        3 points
        • Laurens SpangenbergLaurens Spangenberg, 8 years ago

          I agree that design probably doesn't have a racism issue, but at least in North America it seems to have a diversity issue with (graphic and UI) designers primarily consisting of white males.

          While I'd like to believe that racism isn't an issue in our field, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a hidden bias in favour of white males in some design environments.

          I do feel that the tone of the copy on the website is a little aggressive, especially with the "social injustice within design."

          (Note: I'm a darker skinned mixed Asian.)

          0 points
      • Luca Candela, 8 years ago

        You realize this is complete nonsense in this context right?

        1 point
  • Dirk HCM van BoxtelDirk HCM van Boxtel, 8 years ago

    I know this is probably not the ideal time, nor the ideal place, nor the ideal phrasing.   But god fucking damnit is racism the most fucking useless thing ever or what?

    3 points
  • Kyle GillenKyle Gillen, 8 years ago

    "Black design matters. As does design in general in today’s critical discourse on black lives—and black deaths, while in police custody, incarcerated, or in the streets. But the design profession, made up of architects and city planners, seems not to fully understand this yet. A group of black graduate students at Harvard is determined to change that."

    What is 'Black design'? In one sentence it's poignant on race and then in the next it's all egg-shells.

    From what I understand this is a conference for architects, urging that they take into consideration challenges of the poorer communities in their architectural planning. Is that even right?

    It's getting to the point where reading any article with a racial bias is a waste. This article lightly tip toes around race, architecture and race within architecture without actually reporting anything of value.

    Summary: Black students of Harvard organising a conference for architects to discuss taking into consideration problems of the poorer communities in their profession. Decide to call it 'Black design' for the free marketing (seemingly unaware this both brings focus to black lives and segregates all in the same breath).

    3 points
    • Josh Sanders, 8 years ago

      no.... just no.

      Design does not have a race, and let's not make race an issue in the design world. You know what kind of design matters???

      GOOD Design. Scratch that...GREAT, FUNCTIONAL DESIGN is what matters.

      The only color that should be an issue in the design world is the color palette for your next project.

      0 points
  • Josh Sanders, 8 years ago

    You know what kind of design matters???

    GOOD Design. Scratch that...GREAT, FUNCTIONAL DESIGN is what matters.

    It doesn't matter who created the design, let alone what fucking color skin they have...

    The only color that should be an issue in the design world is the color palette for your next project.

    2 points
  • Maurice CherryMaurice Cherry, 8 years ago

    Such interesting responses, including the ones that were deleted. Nothing terribly surprising, unfortunately, but hey...it is what it is, I guess.

    (That being said, I'm definitely trying to make it to Harvard for this in October.)

    0 points
  • Aaron CalzadoAaron Calzado, 8 years ago

    God damn! The logo and web design is so bad.

    0 points