Below is my response to “Why We Can’t Let Design Become a Boys’ Club” on GOOD.is
While arguably there needs to be more female designers out there, I argue against having more female designers as an answer. I challenge the female designers that are in the industry to make more work that is more provocative and that stands out even more.
From personal experience, there tends to be an unbalanced number of females in the classroom who end up not going very far with their careers. Is this an issue due to too many male designers? I don’t think so. I feel that it is a lack of confidence and a fear of not breaking into the design world with a strong voice that keeps many great artist and designers, both male and female, from reaching fame and recognition.
I went to undergrad at Mississippi State University. I know that Mississippi isn’t necessarily known for a large percentage of the design industry. But in my undergrad program, there was a 2:1 ratio of girls to boys, with white gay guys being an extreme minority. As a matter of fact, in the 4 years that I was in school there, I was the only gay male in the whole Graphic Design program. I was definitely the minority.
I would like to add that one of my professors at MSU was Kate Bingaman-Burt who was recently featured by GOOD as one of the top 25 in the “Designing Women: 25 Female Designers and Illustrators We Love” article. Kate is very successful designer and illustrator who can hold her own in any “Boy’s Club!”
In my previous work environment, there were 6 designers in my office, and again, I was the only male. Not to mention the only gay person in the office.
I just recently graduated with my MFA in Graphic Design last month from the Maryland Institute College of Art. And in my graduating class of 12 people, there were 8 girls and 4 guys, and once again, I was the only gay person in my class. This is not to mention that the faculty in the Graphic Design area is approximately 80% female at MICA.
At MICA, my program director was Ellen Lupton, who no one can deny is a great designer and design role model. Ellen is curator of contemporary design at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City and director of the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore. An author of numerous books and articles on design, she is a public-minded critic, frequent lecturer, and AIGA Gold Medalist.
I say all of this to simply say, it is not that we need more female designers because of them being the minority. We need more female designers to work harder to make a name for them selves. If anything, we need more gay designers, both male and female, to be included on panels and to be recognized for their work. I challenge all designers to make striking work that can gain recognition. If you work hard enough and are determined enough, then you too can be asked to be a part of projects and panels that add to the discourse of design.
For GOOD to make it out to be a “Boy’s Club” is crazy. It is really a “Great Designer’s Club.”
