--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Design is both a political and cultural…" description: "\"Design is both a political and cultural force for change, although most designers choose not to think about the power it has.\" — Jonathan Barnbrook" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/jonathan-barnbrook-74971_change_design-is-both-a-political-and-cultural_2440593.jpg" --- # Design is both a political and cultural force for change… ![“Design is both a political and cultural force for change, although most designers choose not to think about the power it has.” quote by Jonathan Barnbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/jonathan-barnbrook-74971_change_design-is-both-a-political-and-cultural_2440593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/jonathan-barnbrook-74971_change_design-is-both-a-political-and-cultural_2440593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/jonathan-barnbrook-74971_change_design-is-both-a-political-and-cultural_2440593.jpg) > “Design is both a political and cultural force for change, although most designers choose not to think about the power it has.” Jonathan Barnbrook ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design shapes societies and politics, yet many ignore its influence. **In simple terms:** Design influences politics and culture. Key Takeaway Recognize and harness design's societal impact. Themes design politics culture change Mood reflective critical Type analytical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - branding campaigns - public policy design - social movements - urban planning Key Concepts Power dynamics social influence visual rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - How can designers make their societal influence conscious? - What responsibilities arise from design power? A Different Perspective Design's impact can be subtle and overlooked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Changing the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-the-world/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Designers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designers/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [My design always has a political agenda. When I borrow components from various cultures and juxtapose them in an object, it is a message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-wanders/my-design-always-has-a-political-agenda-when-i-borrow-components-from/) [Marcel Wanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-wanders/) > [Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture, ... When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/priests-like-all-of-us-are-affected-by-culture-when-the-culture-is/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [The winner must promote social jusitce, remove corruption and discrmination, and stand against political, cultural and economic plots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-khamenei/the-winner-must-promote-social-jusitce-remove-corruption-and/) [Ali Khamenei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-khamenei/) > [Theater, art, literature, cinema, press, posters, and window displays must be cleansed of all manifestations of our rotting world and placed in the service…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/theater-art-literature-cinema-press-posters-and-window-displays-must/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I'm not interested in more political or cultural combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy/i-m-not-interested-in-more-political-or-cultural-combat/) [John Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy/) > [America has long raised political and cultural cognitive dissonance to an art form. We are capable of living with enormous inequality and injustice while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/america-has-long-raised-political-and-cultural-cognitive-dissonance/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [The so-called cancel culture on the Internet, the extremism that sometimes flares up on university campuses and newsrooms, and the exaggerated claims of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/the-so-called-cancel-culture-on-the-internet-the-extremism-that/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [It's so interesting that when I finished 'The X-Files' in 2002, the - call it the political and cultural climate in America - was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/it-s-so-interesting-that-when-i-finished-the-x-files-in-2002-the-call/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [The United States is such a potent political, cultural, and economic model in the evocation of the contemporary world, that to come here, select…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/the-united-states-is-such-a-potent-political-cultural-and-economic/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [The Internet's abundance - of information, goods, tastes and sources of authority - creates unparalleled opportunities for individuals to get exactly what they want.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-internet-s-abundance-of-information-goods-tastes-and-sources-of/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [“1966 and 1968 were a world removed from each other in the political and cultural life of the United States . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/1966-and-1968-were-a-world-removed-from-each-other-in-the-political/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [The body must be regarded as a site of social, political, cultural and geographical inscriptions, production or constitution. The body is not opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-grosz/the-body-must-be-regarded-as-a-site-of-social-political-cultural-and/) Elizabeth Grosz > [Power is not just political. It can be cultural; it can be spiritual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/power-is-not-just-political-it-can-be-cultural-it-can-be-spiritual/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Religion is simply one of a multitude of factors - economic political, cultural, social, tribal, racial - which shape and drive human action and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehdi-hasan/religion-is-simply-one-of-a-multitude-of-factors-economic-political/) [Mehdi Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehdi-hasan/) > [Designers, stay away from corporations that want you to lie for them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-barnbrook/designers-stay-away-from-corporations-that-want-you-to-lie-for-them/) Jonathan Barnbrook ## More by Jonathan Barnbrook > [Language is a virus, money is a nasty disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-barnbrook/language-is-a-virus-money-is-a-nasty-disease/) Jonathan Barnbrook > [Designers, stay away from corporations that want you to lie for them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-barnbrook/designers-stay-away-from-corporations-that-want-you-to-lie-for-them/) Jonathan Barnbrook Explore all 3 Jonathan Barnbrook quotes ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. 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