Designing Ethically: Question the Process
Creating inclusive art is an intentional act that requires recognition of our own biases. This often means taking more time to question the metaphors and symbolism that we’re using and being critical when selecting stock imagery. Drawing this past year asking questions has taught me about things that I’ve never had to consider as a white woman. I’m grateful for the learnings from my colleagues and peers that have helped shape my process, and to Lydia for helping me formalize the ideas below. When I start designing, applying a JEDDI (Justice, Equity, Decolonization, Diversity and Inclusion) lens to visual art means asking the following:
Have we only included straight thin, white able-bodied people in the image?
If you’ve ever done a Google search or combed through stock photos using a key word, you’ve most likely seen a lot of similar, stereotypical images. Get into the habit of asking: who is missing or excluded?
The graphic for the IONS Theory of Change is my most recent project and was developed with an emphasis on community. Given the multiplicity of the sector we serve, the decision to create a shared space showing diverse people and activities felt imperative in making the document more engaging. When developing visuals, I try to be conscious of the identities that may exist outside of my own – am I including diverse races, ethnicities, genders, abilities, bodies, and ages?
Are there stereotypes being perpetuated in the metaphors or imagery?
In many stock photos I’ve seen, efforts to be inclusive often result in people being represented in stereotypical ways. This is where it’s important to be aware of our own biases and how imagery can have negative connotations.
In the first Sector Transformation article about the importance of the Community Impact Sector, we used the metaphor of “home” to reflect belonging. I drew people of various ages, physical abilities, ethnicities, and gender expressions throughout the artwork. I paid close attention to how stereotypes could be reinforced in imagery depicting housework and caregiving. I asked myself, are we placing people in roles that maintain the status quo or are we challenging worldviews?
Have we included visible diversity authentically or is it tokenized?
How are we including folks? Are we aware of how privilege and power can show up visually? When evaluating an image or art, think about who is being spotlighted, who appears to be in a position of power, and who is in the background. Was diversity an afterthought – is anyone from an underrepresented group included in a performative way to give the impression of diversity (i.e., being tokenized)?
Some questions to reflect on are: Would I want to be portrayed this way? Is this image empowering? If not, then it’s probably back to the drawing board or photo library.
Am I actively seeking and accepting feedback?
Creating art is highly personal, but collaboration and openness to feedback is how we grow. Input and feedback are crucial to my process when creating visuals for IONS. This helps challenge my confirmation bias and often leads to questions that I wouldn’t even have known to ask. That feedback can often lead to the art going in a completely different direction than planned.
For example, the original Theory of Change graphic was going to highlight key concepts through a simple drawing of a garden, which didn’t include any people or animals. Through team discussions, I realized that the original version was not going to represent the community as intended. Including people and beings would allow us to visually represent complex ideas while also incorporating our organizational values. Which is how we ended up with the dynamic and interactive Theory of Change we have now!
Thank you IONS for posting this valuable information about art and it’s importance to our Nova Scotia society and beyond. I have been an artist since I was a young boy and as a senior now, I can say that I have been a self-employed graphic and visual artist, historian, columnist and author for my entire working life. This profession certainly has it’s challenges, especially operating a registered business in “rural” Nova Scotia.
As I young lad, my parents instilled in me to “treat all people with kindness, dignity and respect”, Which I have tried to do personally and in my creative work, whatever discipline that I employ myself in. I have had the honour and privilege of working my professional endeavors with the Pictou Landing First Nation and the African Pictou County communities, to research and present their histories by means of presentations, graphic and visual art, written articles, social media discussions and one on one chats. This has be so rewarding, because of being trusted and accepted for who
My creative work strives to be inclusive and actual. And I can remember as a young art student working for the Red Cross in 1977, when illustrating different themes for a project, different cultures were used in the line drawing artwork. To this day, I certainly agree what IONS is promoting as “Art for Impact” and I will endeavorto improve and promote this realization to all!
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and appreciation John. It’s so wonderful to hear that this blog resonated with you – it sounds like it was only affirming what you’ve been doing in your own art!