Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers

by Ellen Lupton, Jennifer Tobias, Josh Halstead, Leslie Xia, Kaleena Sales

Overview

Extra Bold is the inclusive, practical, and informative (design) career guide for everyone!

Part textbook and part comic book, zine, manifesto, survival guide, and self-help manual, Extra Bold is filled with stories and ideas that don't show up in other career books or design overviews.

• Both pragmatic and inquisitive, the book explores power structures in the workplace and how to navigate them.
• Interviews showcase people at different stages of their careers.
• Biographical sketches explore individuals marginalized by sexism, racism, and ableism.
• Practical guides cover everything from starting out, to wage gaps, coming out at work, cover letters, mentoring, and more.

A new take on the design canon.
• Opens with critical essays that rethink design principles and practices through theories of feminism, anti-racism, inclusion, and nonbinary thinking.
• Features interviews, essays, typefaces, and projects from dozens of contributors with a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, gender identities, and positions of economic and social privilege.
• Adds new voices to the dominant design canon.

Written collaboratively by a diverse team of authors, with original, handcrafted illustrations by Jennifer Tobias that bring warmth, happiness, humor, and narrative depth to the book.Extra Bold is written by Ellen Lupton (Thinking with Type), Farah Kafei, Jennifer Tobias, Josh A. Halstead, Kaleena Sales, Leslie Xia, and Valentina Vergara.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616899189
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	210,857
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ellen Lupton is curator of contemporary design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City and director of the Graphic Design MFA program at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. An author of numerous books and articles on design, she is a public-minded critic, frequent lecturer, and AIGA Gold Medalist.

Jennifer Tobias is a scholar and illustrator. She holds a PhD in art history from the City University of New York, an MLS from Rutgers University, and a BFA from Cooper Union. She served as a librarian at the Museum of Modern Art and Parsons School of Design.

Table of Contents

About this book 4

Theory 8

Feminism 10

Systemic racism 12

Anti-racism 14

Intersectionality 16

Equality vs. equity 21

Voice | kristy tillman 24

Teaching black designers 26

Meet mythical norm 30

'Splaining 34

Disability theory 36

This body is worthy 42

Anti-stairs club 43

Voices | shannon Finnegan and aimi hamraie 44

Embodied learning 48

Leaves with you 52

Life | sugandha gupta 53

Mother cyborg 54

Binary structures 58

Sex and gender terms 62

Typographic binaries 64

A queer year of love letters 72

Voice | shivani parasnis 74

Voice | tré seals 76

History 78

Mapping history 80

Life | yolande bonhomme 86

Life | ann smith franklin 87

Life | sojourner truth 88

Life | William wells brown 89

Life | angel decora 90

Life | anni albers 92

Life | charlotte perriand 96

Feminism in india 100

Life | ed roberts 102

Life | neil marcus 103

International symbol of access 104

Timeline | queer history 108

Life | wait whitman 112

Life | ruth ellis 113

Lives | claude cahun and marcel moore 114

Life | susan sontag 116

Life | Willi smith 117

Work 180 118

Internships 182 120

Voice | tanvi sharma 122

Starting out 124

Voice | farah kafei 128

Voice | valentina vergara 130

Design leaders 132

Voice | amy lee walton 134

Voice | elaine lopez 136

Voice | Irene pereyra 138

Voice | leslie xia 140

Voice | njoki gitahi 142

Voice | sabrina hall 144

Voice | shira inbar 146

Workplaces 148

Working from home 152

Wage gaps 156

Hiring for diversity 158

Where are the black designers? 162

Discrimination at work 166

Parents at work 168

Coming out at work 170

Salary transparency 174

Exit strategies 176

The entreprecariat 180

Confidence equity 182

Emotional housekeeping 188

Psychological safety 192

Giving and taking credit 196

Mentoring 198

Cover letters 202

Presentations 204

Social media 208

Publishing 210

Activism 212

Advice for new designers 214

Index 217

Editorial Reviews

"In the right hands, this book will be a catalyst. Extra Bold isn’t just for feminists or LGBTQ+ designers or those in ethnic minorities. It is a must-read for any human working in the design field. With honesty and humor, interviews and infographics, history and future-forward advice, this “field guide” is a timely resource for navigating and leading a career in design today. Eye-opening, empowering, and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny (especially the 'Emotional Labor Invoice')."
- Creative Pro,


"The subtitle says it all. Extra Bold is in fact the feminist, inclusive, anti-racist, non-binary field guide that designers have been looking for, and if they haven't been looking, they should have been."
— Technical Communication,


"Lupton et al. help balance what design history has weighted toward the white male end of the spectrum. The book is light, breezy, and an easy read with ample illustrations, but the reader should not be fooled into thinking that the book is lightweight. Social equity is an important subject, and Extra Bold gets into many of the critical details. This is a must-read contribution in a rapidly changing field."
— Choice,


"This work empowers readers with theory, historical precedent, and practical information, while encouraging everyone to 'amplify other voices and disrupt patterns of inequity.' Don’t pass on this singular resource."
- Library Journal (STARRED REVIEW),


"A handbook for those wanting to embark on a career in graphic design, Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-Racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers combines all types of publications to be part textbook, part comic, zine, manifesto, survival guide and self-help manual. Through essays, interviews, artwork, typeface and beyond, lesser heard voices at various stages of their careers are given a platform to share insights from the inside. Along with information on hiring processes, power structures, mentoring, workplace discrimination and more, Extra Bold aims to make the world of design a little more accessible."
  - Cool Hunting,

"A practical guide for career designers - or those just obsessed with type - Extra Bold is "part zine, part text, part manifesto". It presents interviews, typefaces and projects by a diverse arraof designers, while the playful illustrations by Jennifer Tobias bring the book to life." 
- Financial Times ,

From the Publisher

★ 12/01/2021

Billed as "part textbook, part comic book, zine, manifesto, survival guide and self-help manual," this book is all that and more. The meaning of "inclusive design" is addressed in the wide-ranging essays that open the volume and speak to a broad audience: individuals, organizations, institutions, and businesses open to re-examining their work or employment policies, and programs, products, or services. Other sections profile selected historical and contemporary figures marginalized by racism, sexism, and ableism, as well as the nitty-gritty of getting a job and benefitting from all varieties of employment. Throughout, there are interviews with designers at different stages of their careers, glossaries, and time lines. As might be expected, the book is packed with visuals and graphics on topics from intersectionality and mansplaining to appropriation in typography and the hiring journey. VERDICT This work empowers readers with theory, historical precedent, and practical information, while encouraging everyone to "amplify other voices and disrupt patterns of inequity." Don't pass on this singular resource.

Library Journal