What Kind of Influence do Designers Actually Have?
This was an illustration of an article in Print Magazine entitled Power by Design by Rick Poynor. It caught my eye because it reminded me of symbol for black power in the civil rights movement in the 1960's. So, as someone who grew up with this symbol having such a powerful, important meaning, I couldn't help but relate to it in a passionate way. To me it represents struggle over establishment, willingness to fight for what is right, believing that working together can cause social change.
Interestingly enough, the article does talk about Graphic Designers as being “lesser than” and at the bottom of the pecking order of design. But hope is not lost! The author suggests ways in which we can regain our “hard power.” No more from me, you'll just have to read it and see for yourself...
Constructing the fist of upward pointing arrows is very clever indeed. It embodies the very essence positivity. The fist is a excellent choice to represent the power of the individual, but also because of our shared history, it also represents a group working together to take power. Furthermore, each individual arrow constructs the fist representing the group's collective power. A simple symbol used to create a powerful illustration - amazing!
Source: Poyner, Rick, Print Magazine, Print 66, February 2012.
Really enjoyed your thorough explanation of the work and article. Good work.
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