ALT The introduction to Lisa Maria Marquis' book, Everyday Information Architecture. It begins: "Walter Plecker was an asshole." Plecker, a 1920s bureaucrat in Virginia, used his position in the state's Vital Statistics agency, to codify his views on race and whiteness in the state's official racial taxonomy — dramatically restricting many Virginians' rights and legal agency. Quoting LMM: "Changing a label is a design decision—one calculated, in this case, to disenfranchise specific human beings. Now, most of us don’t have Walter Plecker’s job. We are, instead, designers, developers, copywriters, strategists. We work on the web, and we may not think our work carries that same weight. I’m here to argue that it does. Whatever our role, we are designers of information. Our choices alter the presentation and flow of human knowledge. We control how people find, understand, and use information in every facet of their lives."
ALT Text that reads as follows: A view from an Indian doctor: "Social distancing is a privilege. It means you live in a house large enough to practise it. Hand washing is a privilege too. It means you have access to running water. Hand sanitisers are a privilege. It means you have money to buy them. Lockdowns are a privilege. It means you can afford to be at home. Most of the ways to ward the Corona off are accessible only to the affluent. In essence, a disease that was spread by the rich as they flew around the globe will now kill millions of the poor. All of us who are practising social distancing and have imposed a lockdown on ourselves must appreciate how privileged we are. Many Indians won't be able to do any of this."
ALT The Disney Must Pay illo featuring a terrified, faceless, tiny writer with the sawtoothed shadow of a monstrous mouse looming over them.
