Color Theory Pt. I
On Language, Design, and Diversity in the Workplace
For many Black Americans, navigating corporate spaces can be an almost daily negotiation between presenting our authentic selves and what linguistic anthropologist Jonathan Rosa calls an imagined model of personhood. This model, typically socialized by leadership, too often results in biased hiring practices; barring Black candidates from consideration. Though talks of inclusion and diversity of thought linger, some companies are taking up the charge of creating space for Black employees. Still, with firms slow to implement formal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) practices, how can Black designers bring their full selves to work despite an industry culture that has historically left most working at the margins?
Language and Theory: The Perception of Color
In a 2016 interview with Hyperallergic, artist Tomashi Jackson shared observations from her deep dive into the theories of Bauhaus’ Josef Albers while studying printmaking and painting at Yale University. Coupled with her research of discrimination laws, Jackson found correlations between terms in Albers’ instructional texts on color and racist segregation policies overturned by the Supreme Court in the 60s and 70s. Jackson commented, “I read Interaction of Color line by line as I read Brown v. Board of Education. I recognized terms about how colors interact from Albers’ text. The language around de jure segregation is similar to Albers’ description of the wrong way to perceive color as if color is static.”
This resonated with me particularly because growing up in the fall out of Brooklyn’s redlining, words were the keys to unlocking my understanding of the world around me. Through language, I could unpack the nuanced and often contradictory perspectives that exist at the intersection of race, gender, and class. Years on, I would move from Brooklyn to Berlin—the city that birthed famed Bauhaus art school—in pursuit of expanding my own creative practice. But instead of finding unfettered expression, I found myself frequently observed and rarely understood.
Born almost a century before Jackson’s time, artist Robert Reed navigated his way from the segregated South to Yale University — studying under Albers and earning his BFA in 1960. Referenced as an artist inhabiting a domain beyond the limits of political and social expectations, Reed used the formal tools of his teacher, Albers, to speak abstractly about his experiences as a Black man navigating white spaces in the mid-twentieth century.
Though Reed’s artful negotiation of his vision was both tactical and highly subversive, his ability to traverse the systems in which he worked quite literally put him in a class all by himself. For many of his Black contemporaries, the socioeconomic inequities of the day were too compelling to avoid. Their figurative expressions of American life were seen as primitive and ethnic; devaluing the complexity of works by countless artists while at the same time labeling triumphs like Bill Taylor and Purvis Young under the categories of urban and folk art.
A snapshot of just how singular Reed’s rise through the ranks of the Ivy League school was, a photo of him and his classmates in Albers’ famous color class is pictured below, showing Reed distinctively front and center. Reed would go on to be a professor at Yale — becoming the School of Art’s first and only Black tenured professor.
In an era when the social constructs of race and class had been by law immutable, could the systems used to evaluate the work of artists and designers also become models for selective cultural practices?
From Theory to Practice: Code-switching and Critique in the Workplace
We all encounter prejudice and biases in our everyday lives. The way we present and the bodies we present in, both in and out of the workplace, are constantly being evaluated. This observation or gaze, whether conscious or unconscious, is commonly experienced in the work environment through our verbal interactions. Coined raciolinguistics by Standford Professor and anthropologist Samy Alim, the research into America’s relationships with language and race highlights three major findings:
- The ability to switch between different linguistic varieties is a career advantage for non-white workers.
- Language can be used to obscure and sanitize overt racism.
- Language is one of the most important cultural means for distinguishing ourselves from others.
Known as code-switching, the pressure to change one’s vernacular within a conversation is commonplace for Black professionals. As Alim points out, many choose to alter the manner in which they speak in environments where there’s pressure to demonstrate competency or to align themselves with imposed models of professionalism. Others opt out of code-switching, throwing off those pressures, to show up fully in the workplace. In her TEDx presentation on The Cost of Code-Switching, Friendish CEO Chandra Arthur shared her story on code-switching at a young age. Arthur recalls, “I started wearing softer colors as opposed to the bright Hip-Hop colors and fashions that I had chosen previously. I started listening to Green Day and I eventually learned how to act like my new classmates…I learned how to align myself so that I was culturally compatible…I learned how to behave and speak in a way that made me a non-threatening person of color.” Arthur’s profound recount of her first experience with code-switching is a familiar one for most Black and Brown people. While those in the dominant culture may not even be aware of its necessity, for others, code-switching can be a means of survival.
In her TEDx speech on language in American school systems, Jamila Lyiscott comments on the multiple literacies embodied in people of diverse backgrounds. Lyiscott says, “In these spaces that claim to celebrate diversity, what instead happens is a perpetual invitation to participate in erasure”.
A more insidious finding, Alim’s research cites the use of coded language to discriminate against Black people. Known as microaggressions, in the workplace, these comments are often normalized and can overtime have a lasting effect on an individual’s psychological wellbeing. On microaggressions, People and Culture expert Lori Llewellyn comments, “More commonly, people point to indirect verbal incidences and disparate experiences as the source of their feelings of otherness.” Having been an HR professional in the design industry for over a decade, Llewelyn has first-hand experience working to mitigate encounters that cause isolation in the workplace. “Even on projects, we see opportunities to uphold company values around racial justice. I was once informed by a designer of a client’s request to remove Black people from the renderings of a project located in the heart of Flatbush, Brooklyn. In those instances, leadership should step in.”
Aside from common critiques on tone or manner, Black workers are consistently singled out about their verbal skills. The relevance placed on these soft skills employers look at when evaluating competency and leadership qualities can be problematic when seen from a cultural and dialectical lens. Coined in the 90s before subsequently being referred to as Ebonics, African American Vernacular English’s (AAVE) controversial foray into the American education system ignited debates around Black speech and socioeconomic stigmas. Of an ad taken out by a prominent Black professionals organization on the harms of Ebonics, linguist Daniel S. Ferguson comments, “There seems to be something going on here in terms of language prestige…this idea of speaking vernacular English and the mainstream not accepting us.”
Taking a step back from dialect, despite the fact that Millenials commonly struggle with written and verbal skills across the board, Black Americans entering the workforce are still disproportionately scrutinized on their communication skills. While Black workers navigate the same spaces as their non-Black counterparts, reports show the two experiences can often be worlds apart.
According to the Harvard Busines Review, non-Black managers are less likely to foster open dialogue or advocate on behalf of Black workers. Whatsmore, if feedback is provided, Black workers are more likely to receive negative critiques about their work in comparison to their White colleagues. This imbalanced reporting can have lasting effects on a worker’s psychological wellbeing and directly impact their job performance.
According to the Atlantic, “Black workers receive extra scrutiny from bosses, which can lead to worse performance reviews, lower wages, and even job loss.” Gillian B. White goes on to write, “They observe that the pool of unemployed black workers is likely to be seen as less skilled because of more consistent or prolonged unemployment. That can make companies less likely to hire them, and more skeptical once they do. This leads employers to invest more heavily in monitoring black employees.” The standards by which black workers are held can often be selective and discriminatory. Whether through process or practice, these extra layers of control can greatly contribute to stressors not experienced by non-Black workers. It’s no shock then, work environments that do not solve for arbitrary protocols and discrimination often lead to low retention.
In spite of all this, the opportunity to build a path forward for employees has never been more promising. Design firms are at the leading edge of this new frontier, uniquely positioned to make the innovative choices that impact whole industries. By reimagining the spaces and systems that often exclude Black talent, firms can build new touchpoints to completely change the way we practice.
Designing For Black Futures
During a recent DE&I exercise conducted across our global studios, frogs reported clear goal setting, constructive feedback, and equitable standards among the most important components of cultivating a safe, enriching work environment. These simple points are major landmarks on the road to a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace. To ensure these practices are upheld, executive sponsorship has become more and more crucial within organizations. As DE&I becomes increasingly important to business goals, firms must begin to not just tick the boxes on best practices but truly meet their people’s needs.
There’s still much to do as we make a path forward for DE&I in design. As we celebrate Black History Month, I urge colleagues to not simply ask, should we do something? but rather begin the dialogue of how we can all reexamine our definitions to build a more inclusive future at frog and in the world of design at large.
Part Two of “Color Theory”: A Recap of our Black History Month Event will be published on frogVoices.
Registration is open for the Color Theory salon co-hosted with Blacks Who Design on Tuesday, February 25 at frog New York. There is no fee to register. The first session of the night will feature HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness Executive Producer Kelley Robins Hicks in conversation with Art Director and organizer Jennifer Onyeagbako. More information about the event and a registration form can be found on our invitation page.
Thanks to frog’s Olivia Murphy, Sarah Moran and, Cybele Grandjean for helping me make this piece possible.
