Welcome to Industrial Design
As analyzed by: Dalyn Wade-Perry
It makes sense. At the very core of life, it makes sense. You wouldn’t ask a tiger to act like a wolf, because a tiger’s a tiger and a wolf’s a wolf. In this instance instead of it being tigers and wolves, it’s all human, but it’s a matter of white vs. black. On one hand you have who I assume is a black author or team of authors, and on the other hand you a a white and Asian team of authors. EACH GROUP OF AUTHORS IS SIMPLY STATING WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS THEIR TRUTHS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN.
As an author you can only speak on what you know. That’s how you build credibility. The opposing views displayed in the two chapters wasn’t forged or planned. It’s just proof that humans come from all walks of life and can only express what they know or what they’ve been exposed to.
The chapter Black People made America instantly resonated with me because I remember learning about that a looooong time ago in elementary school. My class even organized a play to perform at a school assembly where each student represented a black inventor. We dressed up as that particular person and when it was our turn we said who we were and what we made while displaying the object in our little 15 seconds of fame. That must’ve been like first grade. That was essential for us to learn in my predominantly black neighborhood. Fast forward to high school, where I attended a predominantly white, catholic school, I had friends who’d never even heard of Rosa Parks.
Despite the predisposed racial difference, these passages also have different tones. A Brief History of Industrial and Interaction Design speaks to a smaller audience. It’s almost like something you’d find in a textbook. It speaks to design in a academia context. It’s something you’d probably only read if you were studying design. Contrarily, Black People made America shares a more informal tone, something like a magazine article. I believe the author intended for black people to be inspired by the information in that chapter whereas the other chapter is solely information based.
Ultimately, each of the two chapters are independent of each other. One party tells history as they know it, while the other tells their side of the story in a totally different context. It’s important to read and visualize both stories. It’s a firm reminder that we as humans are responsible for telling our sides of the story and respecting others’.
