Sharing Dreams/Compartiendo Sueños 2007:
Design in Culture/Diseño en Cultura

Karen Oh

I live three blocks away from a fast food mecca—Dunkin’ Donuts, Popeyes, McDonald’s and Wendy’s are all clustered at this one intersection. The people in my neighborhood are mainly of West Indian descent and African-American and an economic mix. I love my neighborhood for it’s all around diversity. Yet, I often wonder why these restaurants are here and not in the tonier, more Caucasian neighborhoods on the other side of the park.

When I think of design in culture in the United States, I immediately think of large corporate brands and this fast food intersection. Living in a first-world capitalist nation, the word “value” in our culture is usually associated with monetary value. The U.S. is arguably the expert in product branding and convincing consumers that this “value” can be found through quantity instead of quality and that it is okay to compromise quality in order to get more. In some ways this is an amazing “culture” to live in. I see how these companies compete with one another to visually grab an already-saturated market and create innovative design and advertising in a tight market. It’s a visual jungle out there! I also see how we can get away with some pretty weak design and advertising because our audience is not very visually literate. And in a lot of ways, it leaves me a little numb. I miss the uniqueness of local entrepreneurs, their style and flavors, and I see how often good causes lack the resources and saavy to really push their missions to effect positive change for our communities.

I think the image of McDonald’s is perhaps the most universal symbol of design in my culture (and perhaps the world). As well, the analogies we have to fast food in the United States speak to our sense of “value.” Quantity and homogeneity are important in fast food and food is a reflection of culture.

When I think of design in culture in Cuba, I am reminded that their value system is different. Without the same access to resources (or over-resourcing) and cash, “value” holds a different meaning. Also, with a political history of resistance, design holds a more political meaning. By mixing images of Cuba with images from my world I am able to imagine what my vision of another Cuba might look like. It seems a little unreal, but recently, it has seems like this reality is a little closer to becoming possible.

Bio

Karen Oh is a visual designer located in Brooklyn, NY. She holds a B.A. in Biology from Colby College and a MFA in Visual Studies from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She has worked on both print and interactive projects for non-profit educational and social institutions and has also worked in administration and operations. She is currently the principal at HOUSEofCAKESdesign, a multi-disciplinary design studio that focuses on creating strategic marketing and communications for for-profit, non-profit and cultural organizations. Her multilingual designs have traversed the world, from the U.S. and Australia to Norway and Cuba. For more information, please visit www.houseofcakes.com.

Originally from Ohio, Karen lived in Maine for a dozen years where shepicked up practical skills such as welding, sculpture, carpentry and gardening. Currently Karen is working on a major house renovation with her husband, Chris and is busy rescuing cats, plastering and building cabinetry.