Detailed Information for Jenny Yucus

Graphic design is a valuable tool for communicating vision and for engaging people in the process of change, and is vital to social and political activism. As a proactive and problem solving process, graphic design has the power to directly impact and advance the well being of society.

Victor Papanek, a design thinker and activist, was the first to speak out against the disparity that existed between the power and influence of design and the lack of moral responsibility felt by the design profession. He believed that design was the most powerful tool in which humans shape society and themselves. Papanek first spoke out about this social and moral responsibility that designers should uphold in the early 1970s, and his message is still being processed and accepted by designers today. In order to utilize design to its full potential, it must be used in a way that will shape and influence society positively. Graphic design has the ability to sway society and has the potential to aid in social, political, and cultural concerns. My research and design projects are a response to Papanek's call to action and focus on the power of design to change the world.