Conspiratorial Design: Information Design for the Bigger Picture

A surreptitious approach to the intrinsic principles of design, upending the teachings we take for granted

What if data was not a statement of fact, but an argument, and data visualizations mere representations of these arguments? After all, the goal of information designers is to synthesize a particular vision of the world. Taking this position to its ultimate (il)logical end, author Carlo Bramanti investigates the shady relationship between information design and conspiracy theories. Through esoteric diagrams and flowcharts, Bramanti argues that the conspiratorial haunts design even in its most basic paradigms. With a vital urgency to see and share the bigger picture, Conspiratorial Design probes the discipline’s clandestine facets and investigates how communities try to give meaningful narratives to information to overcome the vertigo of complexity.
Carlo Bramanti is a designer and writer based in the Netherlands. His research touches upon design culture, visual studies and their relationship with politics and communities.