In three decades, the United States will have a “majority-minority” population. We asked four artists to consider this demographic shift. Sharing his vision of 2050 is Jeff Ng, a designer better known as jeffstaple and the founder of Staple Design.
February 5, 2013
It is projected that within three decades, the United States will have a “majority-minority” population. We asked four artists to consider this demographic shift, and show us their visions of the year 2050. Here is Jeff Ng, a designer better known as jeffstaple and the founder of Staple Design.
In 2050, the minorities will go majority. But what will happen to the humble racial slur? Will they have any more power? Or will they be meaningless sounds of a past era? I decided to study this typographically.
I stacked all the racial slurs I know on top of each other (a symbolic reference to when the minorities “take over” the majority population). In essence, what happens to the letters will also happen to their meanings. (I think, anyway.) They will become irreverent, meaningless, and ineffective.
I furthered the type study by showing how the stacked slurs look Left-Justified, Centered, and Right-Justified—a nod to people’s political allegiances. No matter if you sit on the left, right, or center, the idea of racial indignity will be a lost art form come 2050.
What does 2050 look like to other artists? To view the rest of the pieces from this series, click here:
Oyama Enrico Isamu Letter
