The surrounding visual popular culture, historical events and intergroup relationships influence the formation of racial stereotypes while portraying out-groups. The presence of these stereotypes in the design outcome depends largely on whether the designer is aware of them or not and whether the designer can justify their presence to him or herself.
Majority of the stereotypes I was able to identify during the design process were motivated by paternalism and envy. The final illustrations were likewise influenced with paternalistic attitudes. Other influences were the surrounding popular visual culture in Finland and the West and relationship with Araba.
A designer makes an ethical choice when choosing to portray out-groups. He or she will risk reinforcing stereotypes doing so. Great care should be applied when choosing to portray out-groups. It is important that the designer acknowledges that racial biases are to some extent unconscious and thus hard to avoid completely.
Being aware of one’s racial biases during the design process can be helpful when combating the recycling of racial stereotypes. Even though subtle racial biases are almost impossible to get rid of altogether, acknowledging them can help lessen the use of racial stereotypes when portraying out-groups. However, given too much emphasis, avoiding biases can hinder the creative process. The designer needs to find a balance between self-censorship and self-expression in order to produce as stereotype free concepts as possible while still remaining productive.
It is important that designers are aware of their position as facilitators of social presentations. They should be prepared to defend their decisions publicly and make the viewer aware of the subjective nature of the portrayals.
ILLUSTRATING THE OTHER 