Foreword.

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I don't have a traditionally trained repertoire in design. In fact, being a communicator at heart has tendrils into to the realm of design and storytelling. I look towards Disney as a remarkable success case for storytelling and not because it is inherent to it's brand to tell stories. But rather success is derived from communicating and igniting the imaginations of the common denominator in every human. The child.

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“The riskiest thing Disney can do is maintain the status quo”

 

said Ex Disney CEO Bob Iger. And this rings true to me as a Woman of Colour, with a rich refugee lineage and growing up second generation in Australia. Especially in a climate when the dominant narratives don't reflect my own or for those that appear to look like me. My voice never had proverbially, the batteries included. Where as the Barbies and Ken dolls of the world already had their likeness in the media and their voice would seamlessly join the chorus of others before them.

 

I remember actually a pivotal moment earlier this year (BC - before Corona) where I had attended an International Womens' Day breakfast hosted by the University Women's Business Groups across 3 campuses in Sydney. I ended up being sheeped to the front row where no one wanted to sit conveniently. And I thought to myself, "Oh god I'm going to be face to face with the speakers and I'll have to look them in the eye and pretend I'm not half asleep and sweating from running for my train." This has some importance later on so please bare with me and this visual mess I was in.

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I've sat down for a while introducing myself to someone next to me so I have a companion to weather this self induced stress I was in when the speaker announces the panelist to take the stage. One by one, then step up following their name and a shopping list of accolades. What struck me in the moment was the whiteness. And no, I didn't forget to read the memo on the speakers that had been spamming my emails all week.

 

But I was affronted (literally because of the hot seat I was in) and I was curious to see why I couldn't see Her.And who might Her be? She was someone that looked like me, understood my story without asking "Oh no no, but where do you actually come from."  She was without representation in an inclusive diversity event.

 

I'm no Joan of Arc nor the Asian answer to Greta Thunberg but I heard Eminem's iconic quick spoken word (coined by Chrisy Tegan with PhD in life) regardless.

 

Look
If you had
One shot
Or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted
In one moment
Would you capture it
Or just let it slip?

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And yes, my palms were sweaty but my knees were not weak when I put my hand immediately up when question time arrived. Looking down the belly of the beast I asked them where She was. The answer isn't half as important as it was adequate - I'd admit it was a curly question for 8:30 AM in the morning. But man I was F*CKING SCARED OUT OF MY MIND. Moral of the story is my aesthetic is honed quite literally by fire, running a gauntlet to chase innovation. It's is an ongoing proof of concept of unlearning the status quo whilst deconstructing for people like me. I am fueled by fear of not changing, not evolving - both myself and the society I'm in. 

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Perhaps, a warning label would have been more appropriate than foreword.

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- M L V D