Last week, the Prep School hosted a workshop led by Keeniun Brumskill, a designer, entrepreneur and educator who specializes in programs that allow students to blend artistry with science and technology. Mr. Brumskill’s workshop focused on the role that design plays in our lives — affecting everything from the computer interfaces we use to the clothes we wear and even, as he pointed out, the way we sign our names. 

“Think about the first time you were asked to sign your name,” Mr. Brumskill explained. “Now you’re at this place in time where you’re signing your name on things, and you don’t even think about how that signature is a design you created and is now a part of who you are.”

Mr. Brumskill discussed his background as a designer and the process he uses for his work in fashion design. Embarking on a career as a fashion designer meant studying a wide range of skills to enable his design sense, from the technology needed to visualize his designs to the math needed to calculate measurements and the mechanics of actually fabricating his pieces.

Mr. Brumskill also talked about the politics of design — how design can be used in a way that discriminates against people or even rises to the level of overt racism, such as a Gucci sweater that played on images of blackface. But design can also further social justice causes, Mr. Brumskill said. “Design today is opening people’s eyes and providing more understanding of what others might be dealing with,” he said. He highlighted one of the now-familiar Black Lives Matter graphics — bold text against a simple backdrop — as an example of strong design being used to emphasize and enhance the power of a political message. 

Click here to watch the full workshop presentation by Mr. Brumskill.