: Racially Sensitive Icons This could a very broad question, so bear with it. I was going through an article about Cleveland Indians and realized that the Logo for the team is racially insensitive.

@Jessie844

Design is a form of communication, and the same rules apply as for any other. If it would be fine to say something to someone's face, you're probably fine saying it in a design. If it wouldn't, be prepared for consequences if you say it behind their back, or write it on a billboard, or draw it into a logo or icon.

This is usually easier to judge for words than images - judging what an image "says" is more difficult and abstract. Context is hugely important. Here's a few questions to ask yourself:


If you are representing something, ask "in context, what could people see this as representing?" For example, one of the common objections to that Cleveland Indians logo comes from it being presented like a representation of "Indians", a whole group. If the same image was used for one character in a cartoon alongside other native american characters, it'd be treated quite differently: representing one character's characteristics, not a whole set of people.


If you do have to represent a whole group of people, first make sure it's a design for which you'd be happy to sit down with someone from that group and explain how your design represents them, their family and everyone else like them. Then, if possible, actually do so: test it, don't just guess, and if it seems to touch a raw nerve, find out why.

Images bring things to life: so ask yourself, "What range of things could I be bringing to life with this image?" For example, part of the context to the Cleveland Indians example is that there are almost no actual "Cleveland Indians" as Native Americans were forced out of their homes across Ohio, and many of the tribes native to the Cleveland area are now almost extinct, with their remaining relatives often now living in poverty miles away from their roots, disconnected from their history and culture.


This logo that aims to bring out a sense of fun and associate it with a sports brand, and does very vividly look "fun" - but because this history exists, for a lot of people it instead brings to life the idea that people being forced from their homes is something casual and frivolous to have fun with.





How to manage this as a designer? Mostly, things you should be doing anyway:


Do your research and know your subject matter. Don't discover raw nerves the hard way.
Know the context your work will be presented in, and take it into account.
Know your client and what is and isn't an acceptable level of risk for them.
Test what you produce as much as possible, and expect unexpected responses.


And also...


Remember that freedom of speech also includes a right to reply: and that it's positive replies to your designs that clients pay you for.
If you do take a risk, make sure your client is aware of the risk and is taking responsibility for the brief they've given you and for their decision to sign off what you produce.

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@Rivera951

I would suggest you read the post that JohnB links to

How to balance dignity with a calculated risk of offensiveness / tastelessness?

However; I cannot see what is so racially offensive about the logo. Because it is red? The grin? The feather?

People take offence, or try to bend over backwards not to offend, that they can find something wrong about everything.

By the same token, I should be offended at the logo of the Minnesota Vikings, as it is a wildly incorrect social, historical and visual representation of my Nordic origin.

And then you can never make a logo for a garden centre with a pansy in it. Pansy is a symbol of freethinkers, but also a slang word for homosexuals. There is no way out of this, really.

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@Kevin459

This is not a full answer, but usage of single-color (usually black on white) pictograms may workaround the problem where abstraction is allowed (icons etc...) Another approach (in less formal contexts) is to use blue or green heads/figures to bring an abstraction into skin color. Several companies in my country have such a figures/puppets as mascots or as main characters in advertising campaings (including websites or company materials).

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