CONTRARIAN VIEWPOINTS NO LONGER CUT IT
As a studio that prides itself on embodying a contrarian spirit unafraid to question it all, we constantly challenge and explore the many angles of our approach to design, strategy, the clients we choose to work with, and staffing. Our non-traditional team is made up of folks of all ages and backgrounds — from both inside and outside the industry — who have taken unique paths to join us and bring unique points of view to the table.
But lately, as so much continues to rapidly move in seemingly wrong directions, it’s become clear that our contrarian viewpoint no longer cuts it. While it was a fresh new take when our studio was founded, these days that’s no longer the case. Contrarianism is now the consensus. It’s gone mainstream. So it doesn’t matter that we were early adopters. Nor does it set us or our thinking apart anymore. Time, then, to shift to subversion in order to keep evolving and stay ahead of the pack.
While being contrarian means rejecting what is popular and going against the norm, subversion takes things a step further. It shines the spotlight on established or existing systems, and utilizes tools, skills and resources to overthrow, undermine, weaken or destroy them.
The last few years have opened our eyes to the fact that many of the pressing issues and injustices we face are consequences of flawed systems. Social shortcomings like racism and other inequities are byproducts of their design. Most people would see this as a failure. We, however, look at it a bit differently.
As strategists and designers, there are many systems we have the power and obligation to undermine in our daily work. In a recent piece, our design director Wednesday Krus discussed the vital role that UI/UX designers have in making the internet less dark by weakening common practices that let brands deceive consumers for profit and power. That is just one example of our studio’s actions centered around activism, awareness and engagement, the principles we constantly strive to build upon.
We are, of course, realists. Entities like social media and the healthcare, justice and food systems are simply operating the way they were designed to. Twitter was designed to be a place of connection and free conversation, regardless of who was connecting and over what subject matter. Health insurance, meanwhile, was designed to give people access to care; that is, if they have the means to pay for it. And so on.
Looking back, it’s clear these systems were bound to fail before they even launched. They were created, intentionally or not, to suppress and weaken the many for the benefit of the few. They were made to be strong and last long without considering that the world would always be changing around them.
The rub is, it takes design to destroy design. That’s where subversion comes into play. Creators have long tapped into subversive practices to play their part in upending unjust systems. For the Brighton Museum’s 2013 exhibition titled Subversive Design, the institution explored “how designers, makers and manufacturers react to the world around them, playing with form, function and materials to create objects that provoke and amuse.” It explained that “for over 200 years craft and design have been used to engage and challenge political and social issues in both obvious and more hidden ways.”
While one person can make a difference, real subversion takes a collective effort. In the New York Public Library’s description of its exhibit Subversion & The Art of Slavery Abolition, the organization wrote that it took a collective of abolitionist writers, poets, illustrators, photographers and more to generate the knowledge, awareness and emotion necessary for “the formation of one of the movement’s most subversive projects: The Underground Railroad.”
To inspire and establish subversive initiatives, what’s needed is a community of creative, forward-thinking people. Writers, to encourage and bring clarity. Visual artists, to paint realities and make people aware. Poets and musicians, to create combinations of words and rhythms that make sure people never forget. The list goes on and on; the possibilities endless.
The poet Philip Larkin once said, “I think we got much better poetry when it was all regarded as sinful or subversive, and you had to hide it under the cushion when somebody came in.” Consensus flattens an idea. Subversion sets it free. When you don’t look for a mold to fill or rules to follow, opportunities abound. True, it might take more work to get noticed, but working outside an established system is where the magic happens. That’s where we as a studio thrive; where real change is possible.
So now we ask: Who is ready to move forward? Who has the guts to shift, not just to join us in taking a stand but in tearing systems down?
