Throughout history, women have suffered inequality and gender prejudice within the field of design, which is why it is so important to showcase the works of talented and driven women who may otherwise have not received the recognition they deserved. Designing women is an exhibition held at the National Gallery of Victoria from the 28^th of September 2018 until 27^th of September 2019 and highlights the ongoing role of female designers in shaping contemporary design [1].

Walking into the National Gallery of Victoria on a busy Monday morning during school holidays created a scene of frenzy around me. However, when I reached the third floor where the Designing Women exhibition was being held, there is a respectful silence. I believe this is because the dark room and brightly exhibition pieces make people stop and take in the works of art around them. From fashion to product design, to architectural and digital design, this exhibition really highlighted all the different types of contributions women have made to the practice and profession of design over the last 40 years [2].

It is argued that women throughout the past couple of decades have many more barriers imposed on them to be successful designers, barriers that an equally talented man may not face [3]. These barriers, or hurdles, according to Margaret Bruce and Jenny Lewis in ‘Women Designers – is there a gender trap?’, include completing a degree, attaining a job and becoming successful in that job [4]. Although in today’s society this may be easier to do, women in the past had a harder time of getting their design works recognised. This is why an exhibition like NGV’s Designing Women is important for all of us to appreciate.

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It also is important when focusing on women’s work throughout history that we also look at the women from different cultures and races, which this exhibition has perfectly included. From works from Indigenous Australians, to women from countries such as Japan and the Netherlands, the NGV has showcased the ideas, beliefs and values of many creative and inspiring women. One of the exhibition pieces that encompasses the teamwork and community of women is ‘Bush Couture’ by Linda Jackson (Figure 1 & 2). ‘Bush Couture’ has a whole range of pieces and all of them defy the limits of western fashion by focusing on influences from around the world [5]. However, the one showcased in the Designing Women exhibition is called Tiwi Outfit and is one of many collaborations with Indigenous artists and art centres.

Tiwi outfit was made in 1992 in Wurrumiyanga on Bathurst Island, and is a collaboration with Josette Orsto, a Tiwi born batik artist. The piece comprises Orsto’s silk batiks and twenty disparate indigenous necklaces collected by Jackson on visits to numerous indigenous communities. The layering of the batiks dyed with Tiwi jilamara (designs) references Tiwi island performers adorned for Pukumani (mourning) and Kulama (coming of age) ceremonies [6].

This outfit is beautiful and the different patterns and colours link significantly with the theme of ‘bush couture’. However, an important feature of this outfit is that Jackson has incorporated ‘Respectful Design’ into it. Respectful Design implies “forgoing vast emotional experiences that validate privilege, and instead amplifying the voices of the oppressed” [7]. Jackson had sought for different pieces of jewellery from Indigenous people, which makes the purpose of the outfit more genuine, and she also discussed with a collaborated with Indigenous people, which is seen to be respectful to their cultures and values.

In conclusion, the Designing Women exhibition celebrates the work by female artists and designers from all cultures and backgrounds, such as Linda Jackson and Josette Orsto. It highlights the ability of women to challenge gender prejudice and allows talented female designers to be acknowledged for their professional contributions separatately from their gender identity, while also inspiring all those who view their work.

References:

[1] “Designing Women”, Ngv.Vic.Gov.Au, accessed April 9^th, 2019, https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/designing-women/

[2] Ibid

[3] Bruce, and Lewis. “Women Designers — Is There a Gender Trap?” Design Studies 11, no. 2 (1990): 117

[4] Ibid, 117

[5] “Linda Jackson Bush Couture”, Ngv.Vic.Gov.Au, accessed April 9^th, 2019, https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/linda-jackson-bush-couture/

[6] Ibid

[7] Onafuwa, Dimeji. “Allies and Decoloniality: A Review of the Intersectional Perspectives on Design, Politics, and Power Symposium.” Design and Culture 10, no. 1 (2018): 11

It is quite disappointing to hear that there are forgotten superheroes of design, as we know that designers put so much effort, hard-work and dedication into their work. However, we know that the field of design is so broad and large, that it is no wonder why not everyone can be remembered for every work of design. This is why it is so important to highlight the forgotten designers who have made an impact on the world, maybe without many people noticing it.

In 2007, the New York Times published an article about “the design heroine you’ve probably never heard of”. This article was written about Muriel Cooper (Figure 1.), a graphic designer, book publisher, digital designer, researcher and educator. With this long list of expertise, how is it possible not many people know about her? Cooper was the very first design director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press (otherwise known as the MIT Press), she was the co-founder of the Visible Language Workshop at MIT, and was the first woman to be granted tenure at the MIT’s Media Lab, where she was able to develop software interfaces [1]. On top of this, she was also given the opportunity to teach a new generation of designers.

Muriel Cooper is also known for her concentration on the relationship between graphics and technology. Cooper was seen as a pioneer of the new design domain, as she was one of the first graphic designers to carry out profound explorations of the new possibilities of electronic media, such as 3D text [2]. Muriel also had a love for Bauhaus, and had even designed the classic book Bauhaus, which was published by MIT Press in 1969, the 50th anniversary of the German design school’s founding. This project took Cooper nearly two years to create, as she had to enlarge, revise, and completely redesign an American version of an earlier German edition. She set the book in the newly-available Helvetica typeface and used a grid system page layout, giving the book a strong modernist appearance [3]. This, and her work in digital design, is why she was known by many around her as the woman who designed the bridge between Bauhaus and the digital age.

Again, it’s hard to understand why this remarkable woman has been seen to be “forgotten” in today’s society. This is because women have a harder time being recognised compared to men. In Jane Connory’s paper on women in graphic design, it was shown that despite women comprising more that 50% of graphic design graduates since the 1970’s, only one woman was included in the AGDA Hall of Fame [4]. Although this is an Australian statistic, the same can be said for female designers around the world. Women have been rendered invisible within the graphic design field, and it makes us question why someone like Muriel Cooper, with her depth of experience, is left out of the spotlight today.

Cooper had obtained three degrees throughout her life; a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1944, a Bachelor of Fine Art in Design in 1948 and a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1951 [5]. Despite her degrees and her work at MIT, she was still unable to gain the same recognition as her fellow male designers, including her friend Paul Rand, who was a major influence for her design work and who had even recommended her to be the design director of the MIT Press. She was such a talented woman, and her influence on contemporary media, technology and design can’t be denied.

This is why it is so important to recognise and celebrate women like Muriel Cooper, as their work in design decades ago has a major influence on design today, even if people don’t realise it.

References:

[1]. “Muriel Cooper”, David Reinfurt and Robert Wiesenberger, Accessed April 9th, 2019, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/muriel-coopert

[2] “Muriel Cooper”, Janet Abrams, Accessed April 9th, 2019, https://www.aiga.org/medalist-murielcooper

[3] Ibid

[4] Jane Connory, Plotting the Historical Pipeline of Women in Graphic Design, DHARN, 2017, Accessed fromhttp://dharn.org.au/plotting-the-historical-pipeline-of-women-in-graphic-design/

[5] “Muriel Cooper, 68, dies; noted graphic designer”, issue of MIT Tech Talk, Volume
38, Number 35, June 1st 1994, accessed April 9th 2019, http://news.mit.edu/1994/cooper-0601