741.6092: Visualising the Canon in Graphic Design

Presentation of the 741.6092 project run with students on the Graduate Diploma Graphic Design at Chelsea College of Arts. Students and staff collectively mapped data on the designers represented in section 741.6092 of the Chelsea College of Arts Library. This section is titled ‘Graphic Designers.’ By collecting data on the gender, place of birth and practice of the designers in the books, we began to consider who defines the canon of graphic design. Mapping this data made this ‘canon’ more visible and allowed us to interrogate the assumptions, privileges and knowledge that underpin our disciplinary thinking.