The Politics of Design explores the cultural and political context of the typography, colours, photography, symbols, and information graphics that we use every day. Designers, communication specialists, and image-makers possess the power to shape visual communication, and with that power comes great responsibility. Are we as creative professionals really aware of the political meaning and impact of our work in today’s network society? This book examines cultural contexts and stereotypes with visual examples from around the world. It demonstrates that communication tools are never neutral, and encourages its users to rethink global cultural understanding. Additional works by contemporary artists and designers show that political awareness does not limit creativity, but opens up new explorations for a critical visual culture. More about the book here.

About The Author
Under the name Untold Stories, Ruben Pater creates visual narratives that support solidarity, justice, and equality. This often starts as a collaboration with other disciplines to create new perspectives on complex social and political issues. Visual stories that reach a wide audience through publications, installations, interactive media, or film. His Drone Survival Guide (2013), received worldwide attention as a dicussion piece on military drones. In his book The Politics of Design (BIS Publishers, 2016) he looks at the responsibilities of designers in visual culture. He teaches at the bachelor of graphic design and the master Non-Linear Narrative at the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague, the Netherlands. www.untold-stories.net

Check out a digital preview of the book here.

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Programming by Kris Borgerink