“Black Pin, Black Pin, where are the women?!”

On Saturday evening, September 22, a pop-up protest collaboration between Designers Speak (Up) and Auckland Feminist Action, and others in the wider design and art community, was held outside the 2018 Best Design Awards event. The objective of the Action 40/3 protest was to highlight gender and cultural diversity issues within the design industry, as represented by the Designers Institute of New Zealand.

IMG_9080_MichelleJones — Action 40/3 protestors, 2018 / photographs: © 2018 Michelle Jones

IMG_8986_MichelleJones — >> Don’t be a Pinhead <<

IMG_8975_MichelleJones — >> YOU’RE SEEING LESS THAN HALF THE PICTURE, without the vision of women designers & designers of colour! << / Guerilla Girls

IMG_8969_MichelleJones — >> Get with the Times (New Roman) <<

Button badges and postcards were handed out, with award attendees pausing to stop for korero with the protestors — one or two even donned the Action 40/3 tee. Another attempted to walk in with a lollipop sign …

IMG_8990_MichelleJones — >> I support a Diverse Univers << another typeface reference made poignant by one of the younger demonstrators

IMG_9073_MichelleJones — >> Comic Sans was designed by a man <<

Designers Speak (Up) + Auckland Feminist Action wish to thank everyone — friends, families, pets, artists and non-designers — who took a leap of faith and joined us in making the issues visible and vocal, on the ground and from afar.

Power in the protest, message in the media:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/107303072/feminist-403-protesters-demand-action-at-design-awards-in-auckland