bdes (hons) Graphic Design
Daniel BradY
Graphic design for an imperfect world
Using design to save the world can be tough for young designers to accomplish, so how can we get them onboard with ethical design? This project uses workshops and comics to make design ethics more accessible by projecting the idea of the designer into a heightened reality full of superheroes.
My first book, titled ‘Graphic Design is Shit and All I Want is Revenge,’ is a manual for designers to understand why we need ethical design by exploring the corrupt and nefarious practices throughout the course of the design industry’s existence.
To contrast the bleakness of Graphic Design is Shit and All I Want is Revenge, I created three graphic novels that explore some of the different themes found within that book in a new, more engaging way, featuring characters created by designers in a workshop that got them to create themselves as design superheroes.
The first book, Blank Canvas, is about a hero that can create things from scratch just like a designer can. He tries to create scenarios that will solve all of the worlds’ problems, however in doing so without the required knowledge and experience of these problems, he accidentally causes the end of the world. This book explores the themes of designing with lived experience, co-design and the idea of the sole saviour.
Decisions is the next book, about a man who comes across a 12-sided alien dice that plagues his every decision. In order to make an ethical choice, he must roll the dice. If it lands on the red face, of which there is only one so his odds are low, he must make the ethical decision. If it lands anywhere else, he is prohibited from doing so. This book explores the themes of randomised ethical decision making, forced ethical regulation and the realisation that only you can decide what is right and wrong.
Dave is a whacky story about a bald man who possesses the ability to summon a design monk at will to cast judgement upon those who use design unethically. Dave confronts the designer of the Brexit bus, but finds out he was involved in the project as he needed to make a living as a designer. This book explores themes of unavoidable bad decisions, calling out unethical practice, and balancing unavoidable practice with good design where possible.
These models were created by the participants of the workshop I made, titled ‘The Design Hero,’ where design participants created superheroes based around the idea of the modern designer and the problems they face. These are the characters that they created, who fight problems ranging from crippling self-doubt to fake news. These models act as proof of the workshop’s success as the participants understood the relevance of the topic and its context within my project.
I made an action figure based around the Blank Canvas character that includes copy to encapsulate the themes of the book in one simple product, for example “Suitable for all ages with lived experience playing with toys.”