I’ve spent most of my life being told not to pass judgment based on aesthetics. Theoretically, the ability to look beyond visual impression is considered morally upstanding in American culture. Pick up the old book with the plain linen cover, go to the dive bar, divest from swipe-based dating culture: you never know what you might find! I agree that decisions of all kinds require more information beyond the visual. The best breakfasts often come from the gnarliest diners. My makeup and outfit in no way correlate to my success at work (contrary to the eager critique of male coworkers).
Despite the purported moral value to not judge a book by its cover, a capitalist society drives us to yearn for the newest, shiniest, prettiest option. Intersecting with capitalist vanity, we find white supremacy, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression that further complicate the politics of aesthetics. What and who gets to be visually desirable? As Sturken and Cartwright assert in The Practices of Looking, how we look and what we look at is always political.
If I’m being honest, I am extremely driven by aesthetics. I curate my wardrobe, my home, this website, meticulously. I am an avid reader, but I absolutely select books at least partially based on their covers. There are movies I count among my favorites that have glaring plot holes but stunning cinematography. Is this shallow, or is it simply a facet of the way I see the world?
We rob ourselves of the joy of visual curation when we are dishonest about the political nature of looking. If we unilaterally declare it unwise to make decisions driven by aesthetics, then we don’t actually have to dissect the instances in which visual judgment informs racism, classism, and bigotry. We need not interrogate the consumerism inherent in the capitalist desire for new, shiny objects. We need not interrogate the failures of the state that drive us to consumerism in the first place. What if rather than advancing the platitude of not judging a book by its cover, we asked why certain authors have nicer covers than others? Who gets to design the cover? Why is the buyer motivated to buy the brand new hardcover rather than the dog eared copy at the used bookstore? Why does it matter that we go to the used bookstore rather than relying on Amazon and e-readers?
This is to say, my semester in Visual Thinking has intelligently informed my argument in defense of the persuasive power of imagery. Visual form and spatial poetics are tools, and we get to choose how we use and critically consume them. Throughout this course, I have harnessed the elements of design to communicate. In my previous blog post, I examined the formal elements of my carte de visite and Jacob Lawrence collage adaptation. Both of these projects exemplify the use of strategic visual composition to convey meaning.
In my carte de visite, proximity and scale communicate value and purpose. A large pencil at the bottom of the frame indicates that writing and drawing are my foundation. My wedding ring, enlarged and encircling my head, communicates the spiritual nature of my marriage and its priority in my everyday life. Though the purpose of this project is not inherently persuasive, all images carry the power to persuade. A viewer may be persuaded to engage with me if this portrait conveys priorities and interests that are similar to their own. They may be persuaded to see me as a creative and whimsical person as the design elements suggest.
In my Jacob Lawrence adaptation, the formal elements of color and contrast are on display. I have replaced Lawrence’s original shapes with the logos of brands who have corresponding color palettes. The viewer would immediately recognize these companies. Their bright colors stand out in strong contrast to another collaged image, a photograph of a crowd of people. This contrast communicates the way brands overshadow humanity as individuals attempt to outrun our economic system. A viewer of this work may be persuaded to reconsider their relationship to consumerism or resist the impacts of capitalism.
Though all imagery has the ability to persuade, I was most invested in the persuasive potential of this website. I entered the masters program at Agnes for a number of reasons (their margins-to-center social justice approach, gaining data analytics skills, etc.), but mainly in an effort to unify my creative pursuits. Since earning my undergraduate degree, my adult life has felt bifurcated. During the day, I work in marketing and communications. At night, I am an artist. It didn’t feel quite right to call comms my “day job,” as I have real passion for the field and it uses all of my creative skills. In 2017, I designed my first website to capture my poetry and performance art, but it felt odd to shoehorn in my experience as a communications professional.
A website is, at once, just a website and also a meaningful representation of the subject described. As Sturken and Cartwright assert in The Practices of Looking, all visual interpretations of the world are renderings of their subject. A photograph of an apple is a rendering of an apple. The photograph is, of course, not the apple itself, yet we gain much of our understanding of the world through renderings. My struggle to articulate myself online indicates a struggle to discern my professional identity and the purpose of my work.
When developing this new website, I sat down with paper and pen and asked myself, “What is it I do?” I know my work as a communications professional and artist are related, but I need to articulate that relationship. Given the privilege of time to sit with this core question, I had an epiphany: I tell stories. I believe in the power of visual and verbal narratives to change the world. I lend my skills to stories that potentially improve the world. Finding the core of my work’s purpose inspired this website’s homepage.
Aesthetically, I wanted the design of my website to communicate professionalism and creativity. A minimalist design with abundant negative space invites the viewer to see room for themselves within my vision. It also clarifies the user experience, providing strong linear ways to navigate the site that still invite curiosity and exploration. As a designer, I guide my prospective audience to go down one of two pathways: are you interested in the stories I tell independently, or those I tell on behalf of clients?
When I decide to craft a story, I start with an image. My best writing is grounded in strong imagery. Nearly all my poems begin with a picture I can’t get out of my head. Thus, I settled on the design of my two sub-landing pages: “client stories” and “my stories.”
On “client stories”, users see highlights of my three major comms positions with the option to learn more. Big, juicy images and clickable videos allow an easy portfolio scroll-through or the opportunity to dive deeper. If users choose to click on one of the “learn more” links, they can read about my responsibilities and experiences as well as access detailed projects.
If a user goes to “my stories,” they get a more organic experience which reflects my work as an artist. On this sub-landing page, a grid of icons and quotes entices users to click and view my work. These visual cues are not fully informative, in that users don’t know the exact nature of the project before they click on the teaser image. This is an intentional choice that reflects the whimsical tone of my poetry, illustration, and performance art.
In the case of both “client stories” and “my stories,” users have the option to cut to the chase by clicking one of the hyperlinks under the page title or using the menu in the upper right.
If, for instance, a user has looked up my name in pursuit of a specific poem, they can jump right to poetry. If they want to see more of my work from a particular communications position, they can directly access it from the start. The unique navigation from my home page conveys my unified identity as a storyteller, but it does not impede user experience or efficiency. This function itself communicates something about my work, in that my artistic vision serves the objective of a project.
This structure will grow with me professionally as I continue my pursuit of both independent artistic work and communications clients. Though my career trajectory could shift in regard to specific positions or freelance opportunities, the fundamental frame of myself as a storyteller will remain stable. There are endless possibilities for more stories to live within this wireframe.
The creation of this site has been profoundly affirming of my artistic identity. It has invited the opportunity to reflect on my professional growth and goals. As a communally-oriented person, it’s rare that I experience real individual pride, and it’s been a renewing and confidence building process. I have advanced skills in copywriting, Adobe Photoshop, video editing, WordPress, Canva, Google Analytics, Meta Business Suite, public speaking, illustration, and more. Just as this revised website represents my clarified professional and creative identity, this list of skills represents over a decade of diligent creative growth.
I want you to judge me by the aesthetic of this website. I want you, user, to follow your gut instinct based on your experience in this digital space. Book cover artists design their work to persuade you to read the book. I have intentionally curated this site to convey my skills and passions, to introduce myself well for our potential partnership.
How we look and what we look at is always persuasive and political. For this reason, we must lean into the wisdom we glean from visual impressions. Critical thinking demands that we are cognizant of the intentions of all media: visual, verbal, and written. Walking out of this semester, I feel confident in my decision to judge a book by its cover, so long as I also read the first page.
