Visible Language

This essay attempts to redirect theoretical approaches to graphic design practice away from an emphasis on the design object and production (defined in terms of aesthetics and popular definitions of communication) towards an alternative cultural studies perspective. Conceptualizations of the design environment as the locus of authority over content, and of graphic design as the sole mechanism through which interpretation occurs, provide limited explanations for graphic design’s role in the circulation and formation of meaning. Through a cultural studies perspective, graphic design is a dynamic component of a larger discursive field where meanings are negotiated through cultural forms.

Designers in the “information industry” increasingly conform to the neo-liberal concepts of the present socioeconomic circumstances. This leaves little room for a social engagement which attempts to unite the private interests of the information combines and collective objectives. The consequence of this mental adjustment to the hegemonies of the communicative relationship is that design, despite what are frequently well-intentioned ethical starting-points, has become generalized and rudimentary in its substantive and instrumental choices, and naive in its thinking about its own public role. In my contribution I argue, following in the footsteps of Félix Guattari, for a “mental ecology,” for a multidimensional realistic reflexivity, which makes possible the recuperation of a practice consisting of more effective oppositional strategies.

Activism is the partisan performance of dissent, shaped and imposed for ideological distraction. Demonstrations have become one of the primary means with which cultural groups, who lack political access, gain public status. The success of any demonstration depends upon a group’s ability to represent its struggle and reinforce its identity in the process. “Simulated Histories” examines the ways in which visual language politically promotes cultural identity, particularly the demands of overcoming an “ahistorical” identity.

“Deconstruction” is a mode of criticism described by the philosopher Jacques Derrida in his book Of Grammatology, translated into English in 1976. The term has a broad cultural impact in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s, spreading from departments of literature to the fields of architecture, graphic design and fashion. Our essay considers the relevance of deconstruction to the theory and practice of typography. The first section discusses deconstruction in relation to the recent history of design, showing how the term gained currency among graphic designers and eventually became the label for a new style. We then look at the place of typographic form within Derrida’s own theory, finding that the link between graphic design and deconstruction is far from arbitrary, but constitutes a central issue in his work. We end the essay by proposing the compilation of a history of typography and writing informed by deconstruction; such a history, running counter to the narrative of modern rationalization, would reveal a range of structures that dramatize the intrusion of visual form into verbal content, the invasion of “ideas” by graphic marks, gaps and differences.

For the contributions of women in graphic design to be discovered and understood, their different experiences and roles within the patriarchal and capitalist framework they share with men, and their choices and experiences with a female framework, must be acknowledged and explored. Neat history is conventional history: a focus on the mainstream activities and work of individual, usually male, designers. Messy history seeks to discover, study and include the variety of alternative approaches and activities that are often part of women designers’ professional lives. To start the expansion, a typology of roles played by women in graphic design is proposed for further research.