Superstorm: Politics and Design in the Age of Information

by Noemi Biasetton (Editor)

Genres: Design

256 pages, Paperback

Published June 18, 2024

Reviews

[flacabangbang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creo que los últimos 5 años se han caracterizado por un aturdimiento generalizado, una sensación de saber que algo, más allá de nuestra visión y de lo tangible, estaba dictaminando nuestra realidad. Este libro, mediante el análisis de diferentes hechos históricos, analiza exactamente eso: cómo ha evolucionado la comunicación política en el contexto de los nuevos medios hasta llegar a la hiperrealidad que transitamos actualmente.

Si bien es un libro que, finalmente, está pensado para ser leído por diseñadores, no lo encuentro especialmente complejo para quienes no lo somos. Eso sí, es un ensayo y, por lo tanto, va fuerte en el desarrollo de la metodología, etc.

En general el análisis de los casos de estudio me han resultado iluminadores para poder entender cómo hemos llegado a este caos de guerra y memes.

[Connor Lamphier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. Biasetton has a novel approach to analyzing the state of the relationship between politics and the constant evolution of new media, and she fleshes it out significantly in a relatively short book. I was impressed with how the book gets pretty academic at times and still remains quite easily comprehensible, in contrast to my last read (no shade to Hofstader or saying this is a better book, it just has a lot more clarity).

Biasetton also does a fantastic job providing historical context and examples of how new media has always existed alongside traditional media, and how counterculture movements have always subversively utilized new media. I especially enjoyed learning about the Atelier Populaire movement of workers and artists in France in the 60s. It was fascinating to learn how they countered the centralized imagery of establishment controlled television using posters, a means of visual communication in which the means of production were collectively owned. The segment detailing how the practice of screen printing these posters emerged from the confluence of artists and workers in this movement was a brilliant way to show how communication design is shaped by the circumstances and period it exists within.

This book touches on a combination of two of my specific current interests, the academic side of the design field and the current western political climate. Because of this, I found it super engaging and I have begun integrating its ideas into my thought and the way I perceive things going forward. She provides over 200 references and sources, so I will be reading more into some of the ideas expressed in her work that were adopted from the previous work of others.

A few minor gripes:
Many of the examples are Italian, which is totally fair given the author is Italian, it just removed some elements of relatability. There are however great examples from US presidential campaigns as well.
There are a few minor typos, which I think is understandable given that I believe this was either translated from Italian or written by a nonnative English speaker, and was published by a small publisher. I only point it out because it makes certain sentences initially land wrong and require rereading.

I think the most important point I gleaned from this is that communication design needs to depart from nostalgic clinging to old ways, and evolve the practice to try to begin to understand and have influence in new media.

[Edoardo Lazzari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noemi Biasetton’s book stands out from the very first pages for the freshness of its gaze and the sharpness of a writing style that embraces complexity with grace, precision, and sensitivity. There is something profoundly alive in her voice—one that manages to weave together the urgency of the present with a refined theoretical awareness, without ever slipping into academic jargon or easy simplification.

This work offers an extraordinary contribution to its field of research—not only for the quality of its analysis and the originality of its perspectives, but also for its capacity to open new questions and suggest lines of thought that transcend disciplinary boundaries. It is rare to find a book that is as solid as it is generous, capable of speaking to scholars, students, practitioners, and those engaging with the field from more peripheral or unconventional positions.

Biasetton does not merely describe or interpret; she builds a true space for thought—inclusive, rigorous, and radical—that invites the reader to rethink categories, renegotiate critical positions, and engage in a fertile and passionate dialogue. A powerful debut that already marks an authoritative and much-needed trajectory in the contemporary landscape of research.

[Kimia Domire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great set of questions and impressive amounts of research, but with underwhelming outcomes.

The most valuable part for me was the first chapter, outlining historical changes in the relationship between media, design and politics from the last couple of generations. I appreciated the thorough history and bibliography, in which I learned a lot that I didn't previously know.

But describe is really all this book ends up doing, which is disappointing for a PhD thesis. I struggled to understand or learn anything particularly groundbreaking about new technologies and their impact on the design / media / politics space - it is a lot of academic jargon put to intuitive truths that don't really open up any new interesting questions, certainly not original ones.

But I am a lay person who does not study this field so I suppose maybe it does break academic ground? It put me off reading any academic texts for a while. And if your book can't appeal to or connect with educated lay people, then what are we really doing converting a PhD into a book?

[Audrey Kalman]

LOVED this. Thank you Gerg for the gift! great gift, Gerg!

So many extremely salient lines, paragraphs, chapters.

Here's the book's closing:
Overall, I hope that this book proves to be the first step of a wider research project, the intention of which is to build a legacy capable of stimulating a continuous debate around the central themes of contemporary politics and its representations through the lenses of design culture. Only by focusing on these points will it be possible, hopefully, to set sail and face the Superstorm - advancing into hitherto unexplored territories, and expanding the horizons of design discourse.

[Theo Pietracupa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains some very interesting and relevant content that really caught my attention. However, I personally found the writing style a bit difficult to follow. For readers like me, whose first language isn’t English, it can be challenging to stay fully engaged with the text. That said, the author explores important and thought-provoking topics, and I’m glad I had the chance to read it.