A5, 132 pages, Single colour printing, Perfect bound, Softcover, 2024

The eurocentric graphic design canon of the 1960s is tired. It’s been used, presented, reused, and replicated for long enough. To ensure the discipline doesn’t continue to stagnate within this narrow view of the world, graphic design education and graphic design industries need to turn to the role models that represent, and have always represented, the complexities of diverse, intersectional identities and topics.
In September 2023, Abbie Vickress and Laura Parke organised the first live event for imperfect index—a series of small talks centered around reimagining and questioning contemporary graphic design practices. Speakers working to diversify and decolonize the design industry were invited to participate, including Arjun Harrison-Mann (of Power Access Visibility and formerly Studio Hyte), Kaleena Sales (author Centered 2023 and co-author of Extra Bold 2021), Kelly Walters (author of Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators 2021 and co-author of The Black Experience in Design 2022), Nina Paim (of Bikini Books Publishing and formerly Futuress.org), and Zed Gregory (of They Them Studio).

Following the event, the first open call for contributions to a publication was launched, indexing  insightful and urgent approaches to graphic design. The publication, edited by Abbie and Laura, was published by Sold Out Publishing and compiles a selection of essays, transcripts, and design work from a diverse group of international designers. Topics covered include non-Western scripts, the negative effects of normativity, the Black experience in design, cultural code-switching, intersectional ways of designing, access to design education, and more.

This first volume officially launched on October 3, 2024, during the second edition of the imperfect index talks series. It is now available for purchase on Sold Out’s website. The open call for contributions to the next edition is now open and will close on January 15, 2025. All graphic designers are welcome to apply. Submissions should be made via imperfect index website, where additional information is available.

"Graphic design isn’t as inclusive as it should be. A lot of the traditional research behind it comes from a misguided idea that what works for everyone is one-size-fits-all— pushing for sameness rather than diversity. By looking at things through an intersectional feminist lens, we are keen to foreground voices and ideas that have always been part of our discipline, but are not given the same prominence as some of the more dominant, eurocentric ideologies that have shaped graphic design modernity. It’s part of a bigger conversation about decolonizing and queering graphic design, and making the discipline itself (education and industries) take responsibility for change." — Abbie Vickress and Laura Parke.

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