Scan barcode
evadecker's review against another edition
3.0
There's not enough writing about the intersection of design and politics, so I had high hopes for this "(Not So) Global Manual". The Politics of Design is full of single-page anecdotes, and feels more like a collection of lightly-researched blog posts than a serious printed reference. Most of the book is dedicated to pointing out cultural and political missteps that have been made by designers in the past, but there are no guiding principles to link these stories together into something actionable that designers today can use to improve their own work. The book ends abruptly after one anecdote, without a conclusion.
There are several typos, printed references to pages on Wikipedia, and pages where text color contrast almost certainly does not meet minimum accessibility requirements—a spectacular oversight for a book that dedicates an entire section to color and contrast. Overall, formatting feels sloppy: text is misaligned, margins are painfully tiny, fonts and colors seem chosen at random... I can't tell if this is brutalism or just poor design.
All that said, I did learn a few new things, and the entire book can be read in one sitting. I'd like to see a second version of The Politics of Design that approaches these topics more seriously, backed by more research, and with more consideration toward the design of the book itself.
There are several typos, printed references to pages on Wikipedia, and pages where text color contrast almost certainly does not meet minimum accessibility requirements—a spectacular oversight for a book that dedicates an entire section to color and contrast. Overall, formatting feels sloppy: text is misaligned, margins are painfully tiny, fonts and colors seem chosen at random... I can't tell if this is brutalism or just poor design.
All that said, I did learn a few new things, and the entire book can be read in one sitting. I'd like to see a second version of The Politics of Design that approaches these topics more seriously, backed by more research, and with more consideration toward the design of the book itself.
jdocad's review against another edition
3.0
A light-touch but thoughtful prodding at the assumptions of Western design. A great primer on assumptions that have been inherited through design, and case studies that challenge those assumptions.
mood_124's review against another edition
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Really informative into the world of subtle propaganda and racism. Absolutely love and plan to implement in different areas of my study as this book clearly applies to everything not just design and political studies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Classism
Considering the book looks at humanity and how it had used characteristics of design to subtlely show or directly confront an audience with an intended motive to swing beliefs. I believe these warnings and many more are prominent but need to be put into the context of the book before anyone decides to not read due to them.vagabond_mari's review against another edition
5.0
Політика дизайну є саме тим,чим вона заявляє,що є - довідником - охоплено багато,але про все написано потрохи, без заглиблення в тему.
Охоплено багато видів візуальної комунікації, її складових і описані її зв'язки з культурою, упередженнями, політикою і як це все впливає на наше сприйняття візуальних повідомлень. Цікавою є історія фейлів візуальної комунікації, яка використовувала стереотипи і упередження, чи просто не подбала про культурний контекст.
Фанатка дизайну книжки. І ще дуже потішило, що український переклад був адаптованим - з прикладами,зрозумілими українським читачам
Охоплено багато видів візуальної комунікації, її складових і описані її зв'язки з культурою, упередженнями, політикою і як це все впливає на наше сприйняття візуальних повідомлень. Цікавою є історія фейлів візуальної комунікації, яка використовувала стереотипи і упередження, чи просто не подбала про культурний контекст.
Фанатка дизайну книжки. І ще дуже потішило, що український переклад був адаптованим - з прикладами,зрозумілими українським читачам