Einführung
In the editorial introduction to this special issue of Design Issues,
Thomas Susanka and Olaf Kramer suggest that, in democracies
based on citizen engagement, trust in science is a critical factor in
good decision-making. This is particularly important where, zum Beispiel-
reichlich, our collective responses to environmental change or a global
pandemic will determine the future survival of our species—among
Andere. In peer-to-peer communication (d.h., from scientist to scien-
tist) there will be an implicit acceptance and professional interroga-
tion of the underlying truths in all forms of scientific data. Jedoch,
when the channels of communication lead from scientists to citizens
this becomes a more complex and unstable process—especially
concerning social or political issues where a primary objective is
to stimulate preferred decisions and their subsequent courses of
Aktion. Hier, the process is not one of neutral data transmission but
of persuasive communication through visual information. Jedoch,
in a world of “fake news” and unjustified scepticism of scientific
advice, the role of science in helping to craft important public poli-
cies has been badly devalued in the eyes of citizens. Folglich,
this special issue, Knowledge Design – Visual Rhetoric in Science Com-
munication, is a timely intervention at a critical moment in our social
and political circumstances. The authors of this special issue set out
to investigate a number of rhetorical strategies in the sphere of
persuasive communication. Not least of these being the ability of
a communicator to establish the authority and credibility needed
for the message to be widely held in trust. Here the traditionally
unquestioned authority of science, to let the supposed facts speak
for themselves, is complemented by a new faith in the communica-
tor’s authenticity and believability. In der Tat, in a world of data satu-
ration we must at times stop to wonder who and what we can trust
to make well-informed decisions about our future circumstances.
Given that all data are susceptible to manipulation and misinforma-
tion, the positioning of visual rhetoric as a trusted broker in the
communication of grounded scientific advice, to a wide reach of
citizens, is an important intervention in the current social and po-
litical climate that we must negotiate.
https://doi.org/10.1162/desi_e_00652
© 2021 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DesignIssues: Volumen 37, Nummer 4 Herbst 2021
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This special issue also contains three book reviews. Der erste,
Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need
(Information Policy) by Sasha Costanza-Chock, presents original
scholarship on “biased systems” and “structures-of-oppression”
Das, because they saturate technology-design, have become deeply
embedded in our social and economic infrastructures. In these con-
ditions, marginalized people or communities are highly susceptible
to exploitation, often being subjected to various forms of bias. Der
manifestation of a design justice framework, as discussed by Con-
stanza-Chock, must, by needs, involve appropriate technologies and
unbiased decision-making systems, that will gradually shift the sys-
temic benefits from people or groups holding power-positions to the
disadvantaged communities. Followed by Cloud Ethics: Algorithms
and the Attributes of Ourselves and Others, its author, Louise Amoore,
debates the ethical use and development of artificial intelligence.
Generally, this has been shaped by the ideal of transparency as
a means of looking inside the algorithmic black box to hold the
system accountable. Aber, for Amoore, being responsible in an age
of algorithmic governmentality means doing the exact opposite:
“staying with the trouble” of illegibility of agents (both human and
algorithmic) and accepting uncertainty as the very condition for eth-
icopolitical relations. When asked what cloud ethics translated into
law would look like, Amoore—a professor of political geography—
replied that “it would be a crowded court in the sense that my
approach multiplies the possible sites of intervention and responsi-
bility.” This image of a crowded court is the one to keep in mind
when considering the implications of Amoore’s ethics of doubt and
uncertainty for the practice of artificial intelligence design. The final
review is Scandinavian Design and the United States 1890-1980 edited
by Bobbye Tigerman and Monica Obniski. The simplicity, Qualität,
and wholesomeness of Scandinavian design were much admired
in den Vereinigten Staaten, as this book—the catalogue for the exhibition
“Scandinavian Design and the United States 1890-1980”—demon-
strates. The Scandinavia referred to here, incidentally, includes
both Finland and Iceland (which was part of Denmark at the begin-
ning of the period covered) and an interesting inclusion, gegeben
its strength in the field of ceramics. The strength of this book is not
so much an identification of Scandinavian design, nor its con-
textualization in European design, but a close examination of how
and why a design movement makes its way from one culture to
another. These different paths are explored in the sections under the
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DesignIssues: Volumen 37, Nummer 4 Herbst 2021
broader headings of Migration and Heritage, Selling the Scandi-
navian Dream, Design for Diplomacy, Teachers and Students, Travel
Abroad, and Design for Social Change. A particular point of discus-
sion is the Scandinavian contribution to the United Nations build-
ing and the creation of identity through the opportunity to build
national pavilions and display Scandinavian goods at trade and
world fairs. To a much lesser extent, the influence of American de-
sign on Scandinavia is considered, but the emphasis is on the flow
in the opposite direction.
Bruce Brown
Richard Buchanan
Carl DiSalvo
Dennis Doordan
Kipum Lee
Ramia Mazé
Teal Triggs
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