How a change in design canon will change the trade
Decolonizing Design is a culmination of thoughts and ideas that have long been ruminating in Ramon Tejada. For the designer, the fact that it is now 2021 and our understanding of design and graphic design is still so tight is a big problem. “From what I can say in North America and Europe, design history, theory and practice are only very monolithic. Let's just be honest, ”he says. "The field parked its narrative in a very specific geographic location that is very northern European and that creates a problem when most of the world is not northern European."
It is certainly true that the most famous or emulated design work is usually work that has been created over the last 100 years, especially Bauhaus or Swiss Design. “We have to realize that our design history is not the History, it's one of many stories, ”says Tejada. "It's almost like there's a single textbook telling you the history of the field. At this point it's useless and we need to be aware of it."
Decolonizing Design aims to undo this and help people change their perspective, open up design, and make room for other narrative. "'Decolonization' is a complicated word, so I would encourage people to really dig for themselves what it means," says Tejada. "It can mean a lot of different things, depending on where you're from. For me, it's about opening up spaces for all those narratives, stories, ideas, theories and concepts that we don't give space," he says also about becoming aware that many things have been stolen, including land, history, people and work, and realizing the value that people have drawn from it. "
Above: Tia y pa pink pattern, notes from a Dominican York by Ramon Tejada. Above: The Decolonizing Design Reader, v2, printed. Compiled by Ramon Tejada, 2019