“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” - Virginia Woolf
In 2013, among full-time, year-round workers, women were paid 78 percent of what men were paid. Women face a pay gap in nearly every occupation; they are paid less than men in female-dominated, genderbalanced, and male-dominated occupations. Graphic design is well known for having a majority of female students, yet a majority of males in top tier roles, and males who
achieve ‘celebrity’ design status.
‘Anonymous’ strives to bridge this gap, by showcasing the astounding work that women in design and typography are producing everyday, giving their work the attention it deserves.
‘Anonymous’ strives to bridge this gap, by showcasing the astounding work that women in design and typography are producing everyday, giving their work the attention it deserves.
The gender wage gap informs the format and layout of the magazine. The format is 78% of an A4 page, and the pages are based on a five column grid system, where on each page at one column (20% of the page) is always empty. Also every page hangs from a common line 20% down the page, the emptiness signifying the wages that women miss out on due to their gender.
The colour palette is restricted to two colours, representing the restrictions placed on women in the industry. These colours are based on the purple and green campaign colours of the suffragette movement, alluding to a time when women were frustrated
and rallying for change.
The primary typeface used is Triplex Serif, created by Zuzana Licko in 1989. It was intended as a friendly substitute to Helvetica, but it is more special and unusual than that, and this epitomises the way that women often under play their work and don’t seek praise the way that some ‘celebrity’ male designers do. The treatment of headlines also reflects this mood, with the use of overlaying the more masculine, capitalised type over more subtle, rounded italic, conveying how women are overshadowed.
The treatment of imagery continues this theme, by overlaying images of the designer’s work over the image of the designer, letting this be the most recognisable part of their reputation rather than their faces or names. The half tone effect of the imagery is inspired by riot grrrl zines, another movement where women were protesting against the societal disadvantage of their gender. The movement began in the late eightes to early nineties, meaning that all the zines were created with the limited technology of the time, mostly typewriters and photocopiers, giving the imagery a grainy look and feel.
The treatment of imagery continues this theme, by overlaying images of the designer’s work over the image of the designer, letting this be the most recognisable part of their reputation rather than their faces or names. The half tone effect of the imagery is inspired by riot grrrl zines, another movement where women were protesting against the societal disadvantage of their gender. The movement began in the late eightes to early nineties, meaning that all the zines were created with the limited technology of the time, mostly typewriters and photocopiers, giving the imagery a grainy look and feel.
The gender wage gap also informs the structure of the magazine. It is made up of five chapters, however the final chapter consists of only one page. This is the page the magazine ends on, page 78, reflecting the 78% that women are restricted to.
Every issue of the magazine would follow this same structure, and never have more than 78 pages, constantly referring back to the gap between the genders.
