Phoebe Piper
Finding My Way
My journey through New Zealand graphic design
Throughout this year I was interested in exploring my place as a Pākehā graphic designer. In my final project, I created a graphic novel that showcased my journey of knowledge as I researched and reviewed my education, my industry and my place as a designer within our multicultural society.
This publication centres around finding my place within the New Zealand creative industry as a young Pākeha designer. The project explores my own journey so far and looks to how Pākehā designers are placed within multicultural societies. The journey is presented through a series of interviews with local graphic designers with a series of illustrated self-portraits that showcase my individual experience and learnings.
Throughout the project, I discovered how graphic design has a significant way of influencing society, and has the ability to affect the way that people perceive ideas which has led to both positive and negative experiences throughout history. Through my illustrations, I looked at how my education has been informed by a Western tradition of graphic design and how that can be problematic within diverse communities. I also explored how design has the ability to help societies become a place of acceptance of all people and a celebration of all cultures. This publication is the start of my journey of becoming a multicultural designer.
