In 2024, the United States came together by splitting apart. Democracy hung in the balance during this year’s national election — and will continue to hang despite the peaceful transfer of power. The majority have spoken about wanting to refresh the design of its governing system. What will be, we’ll see. What we see will be, somehow.
“Where the Truth Lies”, the Fall 2024 semester SVA MFA Design class I teach, was held amid talk and acts of authoritarianism in otherwise democratic societies. I took the opportunity to start a BRANDING DEMOCRACY project, an ongoing demonstration of how designers, artists, filmmakers, and photographers interpret the various facets of democracy and sum up its key ideals – its truths and fallacies. In the spirit of the theme, participants are asked to create, using various expressive and representational media, what democracy means to them in social, political, philosophical, and humanist terms. The door was even open to defining the concept through style, fashion, and just about anything that can be branded.
What is and is not democracy? Democracy is neither black nor white, there are many shades of light and dark democratic behavior. Participants in this project are invited to address one or more nodes along the democracy spectrum.
Throughout 2025, I plan to offer up some examples from my class but also encourage other design and illustration programs to take part.
Assignment:
Design a visual/graphic sign, symbol, campaign, or other visual narrative strategy that speaks to YOUR understanding of democracy as a social/political construct.
Expectation:
Conceive and create representation(s) of democracy in symbolic or narrative form(s).
All media are acceptable.
You do not have to focus on American democracy but democracy as an overarching concept that spans history and has evolved to the present day.
In short, “What does democracy look like?”
The first example, by You Min Choi, is a blinkered view of democracy as a “work in progress.” Using design symbols and animation as brand elements, her strategy is to celebrate the advantages while highlighting the flaws of democracy, what she calls “Democracy in Progress” (DIP).
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