Small steps, but all the time
Comments following Alphabettes.org recent post : It’s time to act. “The Alphabettes community is, at its heart, political. We are a global network of women, connected together by our love of letters, type, and typography.”
(Sorry in advance, English is not my native tongue)
Ladislas Mandel was an ardent defender of the idea that a typeface designer had to know the language and culture to be able to draw a typeface correctly in a given script. His battle was a cultural one, it was the battle of knowledge. Not a battle that would put humans in opposite of others for a whole bunch of reasons.
It should also be borne in mind that his aim was also to demonstrate in the 1960s that the Univers Devenaggari was not acceptable in India. Is it acceptable today? I have no idea.
More I gettin old, more I have questions to which I don’t have an easy solution
We’re talking about trying to get involved in promoting diversity in our niche, highly specialized professions. It’s the story of a lifetime, with actions as small as they may be on a daily basis. The difficulty, with this kind of objective, is how to give more to some who lack recognition without taking away from others? Quite a challenge.
Which criteria?
Should we put certain physical characteristics before skills as a criterion for selection? Should a person who would have acquired knowledge, sometimes alone, during his working life, like John Hudson (speaking above), suddenly stop working? Since the mid-90s that I have known John, he has shown how openly and without limits he has shared his knowledge with others over the years. He is a humanism, and even if he doesn’t have the acceptable criteria (of the moment), he must of course be able to continue to draw letterforms of scripts that have nothing to do with his origins and his family culture.
Let’s take this example: Slavery was common among the Romans, Trajan was an emperor known for his conquests of territories (eastern part of the Roman Empire). Should the study of the Roman capital be banned and replaced, especially the forms found on Trajan’s column?
The fight against inequalities in our profession
The reduction of inequalities starts at the earliest age, through access to knowledge, by multiplying the factors of chances to obtain a job, decent housing, access to health care similar to others. At the same time, type designers, and more broadly graphic designers, have a long educational background which is not an option for these social groups who suffer exclusion. How many young adults from these groups end up in these schools with an excessively expensive international reputation? We are probably far from the right count. If someone has those figures, I’m interested.
Teaching (graphic/type) design?
For those of you who have been teaching forever (I have been teaching since 1991), you realize (even in public free schools) that your classes are not representative of the diversity we believe in. This is a major difficulty. How can we remedy this when we are already very high on the social ladder? The design world is a place where national representation is already partly limited. From September 2020, should we refuse to teach in a school that does not have an inclusive representation of society in its students? Should teachers with the most experience leave their jobs to let younger people or those from diverse (as we say in France) backgrounds teach? Very difficult and for what purpose? Is this a sustainable option? Teaching is to transmit knowledge, an understanding of the world, mechanisms that remain for the rest of the life of our students.
A good revolution is small steps that make the difference in the long run?
In 2004, ATypI needed to move forward because the current president had been there since 1995 (himself conducting a big change from the past back in mid 90s). My goal as elected president was only one term, because it was important to relaunch the mechanics of renewal. A small step but that is what has been going on since then.
When I launched a master’s degree in 2012 dedicated to “design and typography” in Paris, my objective was to find the best instructors and open up to women, and to a diversity of backgrounds and social origins. Knowing how to give the chance to new (they will recognize themselves), who have acquired experience and know-how. I built this master from scratch, hiring four instructors in 2012. When I left in 2019, the team consisted of 15 instructors and I gave my place to a woman 15 years younger. Another small step.
As part of TypeParis, I have launched a partnership with the help of TypeCon that gives a scholarship to this 5-week summer course to a woman under 32 years old, who does not live in Europe or North America. We regularly get comments: why the age limit is 32, why North America is not included, etc. Of course, any inclusive action will create particular situations that, by wanting to privilege some people generally excluded, reduce the possibilities of others. This shows that it is not so easy, that there is no ideal solution. Each action will be analysed by others according to their life course, the sensation or reality of exclusion.
Should we judge such person and such a course, such and such a training course, such and such a conference, because, according to our instantaneous glance, there would not be the necessary visible equality? Let’s try not to judge others hastily, let’s let the dialogue take place, let’s try to understand and yes, let’s act with small steps, but all the time.
