PDT Debate Caused a Stir To Say The Least

Design is for men by men. Women are not properly represented in design.

A debate in the middle of lockdown who would’ve guessed that at the start of the semester. Adam “Fla” Flanagan are arguing against the motion women are not properly represented in design. I think after the debate my eyes were opened a bit more. I think my stance on this topic has changed slightly. I do believe men and women are equal in all circumstances but when it comes to design I have to admit after this debate and credit to our opposition for this, women now are not properly represented in design. The situation is improving but its not fully there. I hope someday the design world will be equal.

There is one more thing that just kind of stuck with me from this debate. The opposition brought up the number of females in our class. Out of 46, 11 are female yes the number is quite uneven. But I fell there is nothing stopping more women in joining this course. Yes you may argue the point women don’t get represented in design or recognised but what’s to stop a woman learning about female design anyway or design overall. I certainly didn’t choose this course based on male designers or even my interest in design, our podcast is on Virgil Abloh and the first I heard about him was two weeks ago! I chose this course because of its practical side which I enjoyed in secondary school subjects. That was probably the only reason I chose it! I hadn’t a monkeys about design or how to sketch properly etc. As I eased into the course the more I learned about design and I think this course is so open for both males and females who may know a lot or nothing about design. That’s one thing about this course I love its so adaptable and everyone has an equal chance to develop their design knowledge and skills. So I think looking at the numbers in our course and how they are uneven gender wise is a bit irrelevant to the debate. Just my own opinion on this.

Anyway here is a snippet of our debate below…..

A statement like this should be deemed irrelevant that in fact the design world should be portrayed without defining genders. When languages were created they put genders on the objects making them masculine, feminine or neutral. In today’s world the fact that a boat or a car etc is referred to as a she or that in the German language die Schule is the school which represents a feminine object. It doesn’t make sense cos its gender doesn’t have any relevancy to the actual object.

Women are well represented in design currently. We can all agree that women have not been well represented in the past but due to the increase in popularity design is becoming a more balanced and equal platform for anyone who has a bright idea that could change the way we think. Figures like Apple icon designer Susan Kare and architect Zaha Hadid are two names that have changed the design world for the better. Susan Kare was a graphic designer who was one of the main designers for the apple mac. This is a revolutionary piece of equipment as it is used worldwide as one of the higher tier products in the computer and laptop industry. Zaha Hadid was an architect who was the founder of Hadid architecture. She ended up being awarded with the Stirling award in 2011, which is one of the highest awards that architects are given.

From a quick look online, we have found that in NCAD between 2015-2016 there were 72 females and 45 males in the design building. With a ratio of 18 females and 13 males graduating from the visual communication department which is a key element to have when presenting your designs. This highlights the change in times as women are now more respected and represented in this industry.

As product design students, if we really appreciate design in all its form and beauty why should we care whether it’s designed by male or female? Why can’t we as civil human beings just stand back and applaud the genius behind a piece of art, architecture or a sketch or a wonderful manufacture no matter what gender, race, religion or sexual orientation? This is a concerning topic that features in aspects of today’s world other than design.