Assistant Professor Kevin Yuen Kit Lo from the Department of Design & Computation Arts and BFA 00, has recently published a new book titled "Design Against Design: Cause and Consequence of a Dissident Graphic Practice."
In this insightful work, Professor Lo delves into the urgent need for critical engagement and political resistance through graphic practice. The book draws on the experiences of LOKI, a small graphic design studio committed to radical political change, featuring interviews, essays, and a diverse selection of graphic works.
"Design Against Design" is structured around four key themes: Critique, Practice, Materiality, and Autonomy, providing a comprehensive analysis of graphic design's relationship to capitalism and exploring practical ways to resist it.
The book includes interviews with poets, printers, students, and activists offering profound insights into the relationships and impacts of socially engaged graphic design.
"Writing (and designing) this book was a long journey, over 5 years from conception to production. It encapsulates a period of my life and work, and it’s exciting to launch it now as I develop my academic career. It distills a lot of the thinking generated from my practice and provides a framework for me to delve deeper into research on the material, social, and political relationships in graphic design," expressed Professor Lo on the book.