Women of Design and the "Should Be's"

Have you heard of this book? It caught my attention for two reasons. I first thought, "Wow! I'd love to learn more about the women who have led the way for people like me." I also subconsciously wondered why they MUST have a book specifically about women in design, "women in anything" for that matter. Why must we separate?

In an effort to learn more about it, I did a Google search which led me to a blog about an issue from STEP magazine from December 2005, which was devoted to the same topic. The cover alone spurred major debate in the design world, so I gathered from also reading Armin Vit's blog on Speak Up. It was from Armin that I retrieved the list of recognized women, but it was through the comments that I gleaned the names of the should be recognized women.



Although I am interested in all the names, it's the "should be's" that caught my attention. In fact, some posted comments concerning the whereabouts of design's famous female trailblazers throughout the publication, like Sister Mary Corita Kent, "the most famous nun of the 1960's and one of the most famous graphic artists." (Her work is below.)



I haven't read the articles from STEP, so I don't techinically have a viable opinion. However, my impression is that they breech the subject of comparing men and women. The topic of the magazine seems directed at female readers, however the message may be primarily for men. I find that I don't want to know what it's like to be a woman in the design field, I want to know how these women think as designers, specifically those trailblazers. Mabye men feel the same way. Wouldn't that discussion gain women more ground in the field anyway?

I wonder if Armin Vit, a founder of UnderConsideration, contributor to Speak Up and co-author of Women of Design with Byrony Gomez-Palacio, addresses the issues that surfaced from his blog entry. I wonder if that insprired the need for this book in the first place. But what I wonder the most, is if this book pays tribute to the women who "should have been mentioned." Like Sister Corita.

I hope he does, because as a young designer, I sure don't want to be ignorant to the standards these women have set for me.