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The inaugural Fikra Graphic Design Biennial, “Ministry of Graphic Design,” proposes graphic design as integral to contemporary civic life, forming nearly every medium, message, and communication we encounter today. Graphic design continues to gain in prominence, as seen in the rising enrollments in graphic design higher degrees worldwide, in the integration of design thinking into every aspect of global entrepreneurship, and even in the sophisticated communication of international public, non-profit, and governmental institutions to guide policy, problem-solving, and public opinion. Yet graphic design is still often overlooked as the mere commercial production of visual surfaces for existing ideas, which is seldom challenged or re-opened for redefinition. What does “graphic design” actually denote today? And what might it mean in the future?

The fictional “Ministry of Graphic Design” starts with an expanded view of the field, considering professional, cultural, and conceptual perspectives. Moving away from existing disciplinary definitions and medium-specific approaches, the Biennial examines how today’s graphic designers play a crucial role in tasks as diverse as entrepreneurial development, content generation, meaning-making, strategic thinking, form-giving, project distribution, life-cycle planning, and policy creation.

The Biennial’s core argument is that, since its origins, graphic design has always combined the roles of both artist and facilitator, and that this very hybridity comprises its contemporary value. In times of change — with emerging problems and the necessity for new solutions — the field’s creative and relational strengths are a strong contribution to business, politics, and society at large, but also help construct our imagination about a better future. Through this sustained presence, expertise, intuition, and insight, today’s graphic designers help to shape significant products and processes alike.

Intended seriously yet inflected by a tongue-in-cheek approach, the “Ministry of Graphic Design” presents graphic design in familiar and unconventional formats. Taking cues from the innovation-focused administrative structures of the UAE (such as the recently-formed Ministry of Artificial Intelligence or Ministry of Happiness), the Biennial experiments with the public role of graphic design. Multiple curatorial “Departments” (Department of Graphic Optimism, Department of Dematerializing Language, Department of Non-Binaries, Department of Flying Saucers, and Department of Mapping Margins) each focus on a different aspect of expanded contemporary practice.

These Departments manifest themselves through physical and virtual exhibitions, workshops, public programs, and more. Through these means, the fictional “Ministry” focuses on accomplishing three primary goals:

1. Cataloguing and exhibiting existing graphic design works for extended study and reflection considering local, regional, and international contexts;
2. Commissioning current-day practitioners to workshop real-world problems and theoretical questions through collaborations that can benefit from the field’s knowledge, approach, and clear-sighted vision; and
3. Cultivating speculative designs that project future problems and solutions for the field.

Anchored in Sharjah, UAE, but with a regional and international reach, the Biennial exhibition emerges over an extended time frame. It takes place in November 2018 and continues to develop after its kickoff period into the future. Neither comprehensive, conclusive, nor prescriptive, “Ministry of Graphic Design” creates a starting point for continued dialogue, research, and understanding within the field.