Groundbreaking Ways Women Changed Graphic Design

Groundbreaking Ways Women Changed Graphic Design

70% of graphic design students at London’s internationally distinguished arts university, Central Saint Martins (CSM), are women, compared with 50% in the late 1990s. Yet the number of female graphic designers that currently feature in the curriculum is only 30%.

For those that have noticed the new wave of independent feminist magazines—a group that includes fiercely intelligent titles like Riposte, The Gentlewoman, Ladybeard, Girls Like Us, Film Fatales,Krass, and more—the inclusion of Spare Rib magazine at A+ will be of particular interest.

Although there are many women who study graphic design, in 1994 the number of graphic designers in the industry was predominately male, something that the UK’s WD+RU (Women’s Design and Research Unit) actively sought to rectify. The CSM show also displays its Pussy Galore typeface (above), a response that the group created after going to a typography conference where the speakers were all male.

“The experimental typeface consist of dingbat style icons reflecting on the endless spectrum of stereotypical language used to label and control women,” explains Sykes. “While there are more women in typography today, it is interesting to note the recent creation of the ‘Alphabettes’ network, which exists to support and promote women in the fields of lettering, typography, and type design.”

“Letter A,” designed for The Creative Review in 2013 (above). Its inclusion is a celebration of Myerscough’s popularity and contribution to the field of design—her work is included in the permanent collection at the V&A, she was included in Debrett’s “People of Today” list, and most recently she was part of the design team awarded architecture’s Stirling Prize.