Identity Designed: The Process by David Airey

IDENTITY DESIGNED: THE PROCESS by David Airey builds on his earlier work which deals with visual branding. Airey, an independent graphic designer from Northern Ireland, includes a section in his new text for each of these steps Research, Strategy, Design, Implementation. If nothing else, it will convince readers that the experts in this profession certainly have unique talents. Airey’s previous works, Logo Design Love and Identity Designed, each have an accompanying website and are often referenced in design courses. These are well worth the look as readers can investigate the rationale for and evolution of trademarks for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, Guinness beer, and much more. Many of the projects also contain links to recommended printers, photographers, copywriters, web developers, and so on – quite an education in itself. This latest book is written primarily for designers and is somewhat text heavy, but filled with examples (Airey's acknowledgements recognizes almost two dozen studio contributors). The most poignant piece of advice? “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”

Unequal plus Seen and Unseen

UNEQUAL by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau is subtitled “A Story of America” and it deals with racial injustice through the stories of over two dozen individuals. Dyson, a Georgetown University sociology professor and award-winning author, and Favreau, who has also written several commended books, have collaborated to produce a text which is geared to teens. Our students will recognize many of the people and actions which are profiled; examples include Ida B. Wells, Michelle Alexander (The New Jim Crow), and Malcolm X.  And, I have a student working on a project about John Carlos and Tommie Smith right now. Other names (Susan Moore, Catherine Flowers, Fannie Lou Hamer) may be less familiar, but several students have been researching discrimination in health care, environmental racism, and voting rights which are all issues addressed in this informative text. Each section begins with a short vignette and photo, followed by a more in-depth review of resistance to inequality. Sadly, Dyson and Favreau felt it necessary to begin by saying, “This is a book of truth. So we’ll start by telling you the stone-cold fact that there are many people who do not want you to read it. … Some will undoubtedly try to ban this book.” That does seem to be a pattern in the early online reader reviews even though UNEQUAL received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. It contains an impressive list of other suggested readings and source notes and will soon be available for our student researchers and their teachers.

SEEN AND UNSEEN by Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster is a fascinating look at “Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice.” These two dynamic authors are respected intellectuals who have both taught at Temple University. In this text, they reflect upon the ways in which smartphones, video, and its quick dissemination on the internet have impacted our collective reactions to cases like those of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Christian Cooper (Central Park bird-watching incident). They truly stress the broader history of communications – the role of photography and television during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, for example. They also discuss John Filo’s famous photo of May Ann Vecchio kneeling in horror after National Guard violence at Kent State in May 1970.  We know this image, but don’t have ready references for similar violence occurring within that month at historically Black institutions of Jackson State and South Carolina State.  Similarly, they comment on contrasts between coverage and reactions to events in Selma, Little Rock, and more recently, Charlottesville. SEEN AND UNSEEN assumes a fairly broad knowledge of American History – which our students are just developing. However, the text contains copious endnotes and sources and could possibly function as a starting point for discussion, contrasting past and contemporary activities.

Being American ...

The House select committee investigating the deadly Capitol riot is holding its first high-profile hearing today, July 27. The powerful and courageous testimony should hopefully inspire all of us to think about what it means to be an American. Here are a couple of new books which also deal with that question: 

AFTER THE FALL by Ben Rhodes is subtitled “Being American in the World We've Made.” Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor and co-host of Pod Save the World, writes “to be American in 2020 was to live in a country diminished in the world, unwilling to control the spread of disease or face up to our racism, and looking over the precipice of abandoning the very democracy that was supposed to be the solid core of our national identity. Understanding how that happened is the starting point to figuring out how to move forward.” He then writes hopefully about being “joined together to do big things.” The text itself is divided into four parts: The Authoritarian Playbook; the Counterrevolution; the Chinese Dream; and Who We Are: Being American. To write this book, Rhodes travelled the world and he describes multiple conversations and observations, particularly in regards to growing nationalist appeals and leadership in Hungary, Russia, and China. Rhodes seems to see the 2008 financial crisis as an inflection point where the average person felt left behind by the elites. In some ways, it explains the views of US voters who struggled to decide between Bernie and Trump, but Rhodes goes farther, pointing out a “more disturbing reality that the world was basically a reflection of America’s post-Cold War identity, our prioritization of money, post-9/11 militarism, and technology.” This book is certainly partisan and disturbing at times; AFTER THE FALL raises issues and will make readers think. 

A different look at being American is offered “For the Immigrant and the Curious,” in Roya Hakakian’s A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO AMERICA. Hakakian, a Guggenheim Fellow and teacher at Yale University’s THREAD program, is herself an immigrant, arriving in 1985 from Iran. In her latest book, self-described as “part memoir, part reportage, and part a work of imagination,” she offers suggestions for immigrants and refugees who often struggle with the practical experiences of learning English, taking public transportation, going grocery shopping, and separating from family. However, Hakakian also provides the opportunity for native-born Americans to reflect upon the many privileges we take for granted and the importance of civic responsibility and service. In a recent NPR interview she explains wanting to “somehow show the America that most native-born Americans can't see, the small signs of democracy that may be invisible to those who have never lived elsewhere.” A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO AMERICA, called “highly recommended for all” by Library Journal is a thoughtful, compelling read.

For additional perspective, see Pew Research Center which offers some fascinating data about changes in attitudes towards the US. Or maybe look at some of Ken Light’s photographic images recently discussed in a Washington Post Article: “An American Decade. Through a Photographer’s Searching Lens.”