Spring 2023
Another world is possible
Design After Capitalism: Transforming Design Today for an Equitable Tomorrow
By Matthew Wizinsky, Cover design by Matthew Wizinsky Editorial design by Emily Gutheinz, MIT Press, $32.95
Design’s unsettled relationship to capitalism is nothing new. From the ‘First Things First’ (see Eye 33) manifesto to the sustainability movement to the influence of feminist and decolonial studies in design, there have been ongoing efforts to move design away from the exploits of industry and toward socially benevolent purposes. Despite all this, there is not a substantial body of literature that critically analyses design and political economy. Matthew Wizinsky’s Design After Capitalism is a significant contribution that calls designers to awaken to their political and social responsibility. It offers a compelling framework, post-capitalist design (PCD), that extends from historical analyses and outlines horizons for future practice. Wizinsky’s book is as provocative and readable as Ruben Pater’s CAPS LOCK, published just months before, but more scholarly in approach (see Eye 103) …
Aggie Toppins, associate professor, Washington University in St. Louis, US
Read the full version in Eye no. 104 vol. 26, 2023
Eye is the world’s most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal, published for professional designers, students and anyone interested in critical, informed writing about graphic design and visual culture. It is available from all good design bookshops and online at the Eye shop, where you can buy subscriptions and single issues.