Bianca Mendes
Deconstructing the Black Box: Understanding Structural Racism in Tech and Looking Beyond the Interface
Deconstructing the Black Box: Understanding Structural Racism in Tech and Looking Beyond the Interface
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The Black Box describes how the social production of science and technology are hidden from view. When addressing the ways in which algorithms promote platformed abuse or produce racist outcomes, a common narrative in tech is to “black box” the issue. This project aims to deconstruct the concept of the “black box” and open the coded inequities in algorithmic systems.
Using a long scroll format webpage as a visual guide for understanding how structural racism becomes codified within technologies, the audience is invited to participate in crafting a physical black box in the form of an origami cube, while following the information provided in the webpage. The goal is to deconstruct the ideological perceptions of technology in design while encouraging the participant to engage with the construction or crafting of a physical object. This allows for opening up the viewer to think creatively which is an important takeaway when understanding how to develop solutions to the issues presented in the materials. The final project merges elements of craft and digital design, and takes the concepts of sequencing and modularity to visualize the deconstructed elements of race, design, and technology.
The purpose of this experience is for designers and tech users to know about the ways in which racism and technology intersect. Particularly when tech companies call on designers to develop solutions for these issues of inequality and discrimination online, it is valuable for designers to understand the implications of the platforms and systems they are helping to produce.
https://www.biancamendes.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/bianca-mendes-58a159a1
students
- Julia Grippo
- Aria Zhang
- Jamie Loverdi
- Mark Hilkevich
- Olivia Kossakowski
- Pauline Esguerra
- Terry Darco
- John Kim
- Lili Gong
- Alexandra Lekas
- Lydia Cosford
- Ceili Pugh Ayoung
- Devika (Dev) Kamath
- Yunru Qian
- April Zhang
- Wei Chen
- Madeline Markley
- Qi Penny Fan
- Meghan Aubuchon
- Han Zhang 涵
- Lamont Hall
- Wenge Wang
- Kyle Son
- Samantha Redman
- Jessalyn Lu
- Kerong Xie (Shiloh)
- Catherine Lee
- Ja Min Lee
- Marissa Ardizzone
- Ella Chang
- José Ontiveros
- Sadie Broussard
- Alexa Pitt
- Avishi Jain
- Fangyi (Yiyi) Yang
- Marianne Oliveri
- Casey Beifuss
- Saskia Suherman
- Francisco Peña-Castro
- Emma Bieber
- Annika Godura
- Eva Divine
- Sofia Peterson
- Mike King
- Xiaoran Chen
- Chelsea Lee
- Elika Burton
- Annie Lee
- Yunjia Yuan
- Mary McMillan
- Uri Barky
- Jamison Lung
- Tianna Garcia
- Margot (Pei-Yu) Lin
- Erin Beggrow
- shaumbé
- Henry Seda
- Reena Chai
- Cynthia Yang
- Lin Shen
- Alanna Conway
- Noelani Fishman
- Rachel Woolfson
- Madeleine Lamothe
- Meg Bryant
- Varini Nathany
- Eyal Lerman
- Emma Luke Welch
- Annie Moultray
- Bianca Mendes
tags
- 3D Design
- 3d Modeling
- absurdity
- academic journal
- accessibility
- activism
- advertising
- advocacy
- algorithmic bias
- animals
- animation
- anti-violence
- anxiety
- app design
- apparel
- art direction
- art history
- artist books
- Asian-American
- augmented reality
- basketball
- book cover design
- book design
- branding
- Brooklyn
- campaign
- capitalism
- cartoon
- ceramics
- character design
- children
- childrens books
- Chinese-American
- climate change
- coding
- collage
- collection
- comics
- compossibility
- concept art
- confession
- Consumerism
- cooking
- counterculture
- covid-19
- Craft
- creativecoding
- Critical design
- critical race theory
- cultural difference
- cultural heritage
- culture
- cynicism
- data
- data privacy
- decay
- deforestation
- digital accessibility
- Digital Artifacts
- Digital Collage
- digital painting
- dreamland
- Drugs
- dystopian
- editorial design
- editorial illustration
- education
- Educational
- empowerment
- endpapers
- environment design
- environmental graphics
- erotica
- escapism
- exhibition
- exhibition design
- experience
- experiment
- experimental book design
- exploration
- family
- fantasy
- fashion
- feminism
- fiber art
- Film
- fine art
- food
- food design
- friendship
- funny
- future of food
- game design
- gender identity
- generative design
- gentrification
- graphic
- graphic design
- graphic novel
- hair
- hallmark
- happiness
- healing
- health
- health education
- history
- Hobby
- holidays
- human centered
- identity design
- illusions
- illustration
- imagination
- imaginative
- inclusivity
- installation
- installation design
- Instructional design
- INTENTION
- interaction
- interaction design
- interface design
- Interior Design
- internet culture
- intersectionality
- intimacy
- intricate linework
- intuitive
- inventory
- Journal
- journalism
- Journey
- judaism
- knitting
- labor
- language design
- latinx heritage
- lgbtq plus rights
- lighting
- Liminal
- literature
- logo
- Loneliness
- LONGEVITY
- loss
- love
- magic
- Mandela effect
- Manual
- Marijuana
- media
- meme
- memories
- mental health
- mobile
- motion
- multimedia
- music
- mythology
- narrative
- nature
- netart
- Nostalgia
- notation
- packaging
- pattern design
- perception
- personal history
- personal identity
- Personification
- philosophy
- photography
- plants
- poetry
- politics
- pollution
- Pop Culture
- pop-ups
- post humanism
- Poster
- preservation
- press freedom
- printmaking
- product design
- psychedelic art
- psychology
- public health
- publication-design
- publishing
- queer
- recycling
- reflection
- religion
- representation
- research
- Restaurant Culture
- restaurants
- risograph
- rpg
- satire
- science fiction
- sculpture
- Sensory
- service
- shopping
- slowtech
- social
- social advocacy
- social justice
- social media
- Sole
- sound production
- speculative
- spirituality
- storyboards
- student life
- Study Abroad
- sustainability
- sustainable design
- tactility
- technology
- teenager
- textiles
- the subconscious
- time
- touch
- trans species
- travel
- type design
- ui ux
- Uncanny
- ux design
- VIABILITY
- virtual reality
- Visual Development
- visual narrative
- VR Design
- web design
- wellness
- world building
- writing
- Young adult
- zines