Design Femmes noires - African American designers - Brief Article

Black Issues Book Review, March, 2001 by Shauna Stallworth

A precious few books document how black women have left their mark on architecture, corporate and residential interiors, multimedia and print graphics, fashion, consumer products and packaging, and more ...

Black women have always been designers. It's just that the world at large is finally getting around to acknowledging and appreciating the pervasive talent in our culture. The fact of the matter is that from the beautifully painted houses of the nomadic tribes of the Ndbele, and the Amma-inspired West African Dogon cliff dwellings, to the black women of the 20s, 30s and 40s setting style trends throughout the US and Europe, we have created, explored and literally defined new design and style consciousness. Notable women, including Josephine Baker with her outrageous semi-nude banana outfits, Madame C.J. Walker and her widely successful hair care and styling business as well as Anne Lowe, the premiere clothing designer and dressmaker for the New York jet set, all brought design and style by black women into greater prominence.

Though our design contributions have been primarily associated with the field of fashion, modern-day black women designers have also made significant inroads in the disciplines of interior design, graphic design, industrial/product design and architecture. Highlights of our achievements are just beginning to be discussed as the public gains an understanding and appreciation of what design is and the direct impact it has on our daily lives. At present, all of the design fields combined still boast relatively small numbers of practitioners and an elitist aura often shrouds those who enter these professions. Therefore, few articles or periodicals of any type have been written about black women designers.

"And Still We Rise"

Professional obstacles--including a lack of visibility, job bias, fewer graduates entering design fields and limited career information--continue to hamper both aspiring female designers and seasoned professionals. While the greatest challenge facing all designers is visibility; this is especially true of women designers. Black women designers have generally spent less time on promotional and marketing efforts, preferring to concentrate on the work itself, while the publishing establishments, marketing reps and overall media have not come seeking our stories.

In spite of it all however, black designers continue to strive and achieve--quietly designing outstanding corporate and residential interiors, constructing buildings, weaving extraordinary textiles, and creating couture fashion collections and new products, in addition to, designing award-winning magazines, and producing trend setting online/multimedia and environmental graphics.

"At the Top"

Within the last decade, black female designers have reached the top of their design fields and along the way, not only illuminated their own profiles but have shown the field of design to be a viable, profitable and engaging career choice. Though still not sought after for cover stories, a select group has ascended to the heights of `design stardom.' These women are often written about in magazines--primarily design or arts publications--and have graced the pages of the design books listed below. Stellar projects from some of these luminaries include the design of the 2001 U.S. Census, carpets and textiles for major public institutions, redesign of mainstream publications, furniture design, automotive interiors, interior design of Fortune 500 corporate offices and celebrity homes, and products for major corporations such as Kodak and Microsoft.

"Setting the Stage for the Future"

There has never been a better time to be a design professional. Black women have established themselves as qualified, creative designers in every field. While the fields of design have become far more prominent, there is still more work for us to do to highlight our own accomplishments. Current practitioners continue to blaze an impressive trail for aspiring designers through outstanding work and a commitment to making design meaningful and fun.

Shauna Stallworth is principal and creative director of her own Washington, DC-based architectural/interior design firm, Stallworth Studios. As a designer with more than 15 years of experience in interior design and architecture, her award-winning firm has designed projects for commercial, financial, institutional and retail clients. Ms. Stallworth is also Executive Director of the Organization of Black Designers (OBD), a multidisciplinary, multicultural, international design organization dedicated to the visibility, promotion and empowerment of designers of color. Her essay on black women in design begins on page 42.