At the NYCxDESIGN Festival in May—which kicked off with the theme “Design is for Everyone”—the activist design firm Thought Matter hosted an evening interrogating that very theme with a simple but obvious question: “Is it?”
When books are banned and language itself becomes politicized, design may be accessible … but not everyone is allowed to have a say.
At the event, dubbed “CENSOR THIS,” over 200 designers, artists, organizers and creative agitators flowed through a demonstration of resistance not as spectators, but as participants. They crafted posters with statements about their own acts of defiance, which were screenprinted on the spot by Bushwick Print Lab. Meanwhile, the Dead Library—an urn surrounded by wilted flowers and torn book pages—memorialized renowned authors, titles and stories currently facing threat of erasure by local and national bans.
Across the space, a sound vault invited guests to speak into the silence, recording themselves saying “controversial” words to be preserved in a protected archive.
At a communal table, participants crafted letters to leaders and lawmakers, calling on them to reject complacency in the fight against censorship. To that end, Thought Matter designed The Riot Wall, a collage of typographic posters featuring banned, misused and manipulated words, to provoke reflection on what we risk losing if we stay silent.
“Designers are not bystanders,” said Thought Matter Managing Partner Jessie McGuire. “We are the ones shaping what the world sees and understands. When something is censored, it isn’t just removed. It’s rewritten, distorted and replaced. That’s why we’re here: to design what they fear. To make sure the things that matter don’t disappear quietly.”
The following photos may help serve as a model for similar future interventions.
The “mailbox” holding postcards written by guests. Photo: Thought Matter
Handmade posters hang to dry after being personalized. Photo: Thought Matter
Bushwick Print Lab pulls a custom event poster for guests to personalize. Photo: Thought Matter
Guests’ handmade posters hang to dry after being personalized. Photo: Thought Matter
Guests gather around the “Write It” letter-writing station. Photo: Thought Matter
A computer displays the challenged word “Latinx,” while the “Riot Wall” stands in the background. Photo: Thought Matter
“Riot Wall,” a 40‑foot-long mural composed of 20+ custom posters, each spotlighting a banned word. Photo: Thought Matter
An animation of the CENSOR THIS! logo and slogan. Photo: Thought Matter
Posters screenprinted by Bushwick Print Lab and decorated by guests. Photo: Thought Matter
Tabletop sign defines the “PRINT IT” activation directions for guests. Photo: Thought Matter
The interior of “The Dead Library.” Photo: Thought Matter
The post The Daily Heller: Thought Matter Deconstructs Censorship appeared first on PRINT Magazine.