Extra Bold

Extra Bold is the inclusive, practical, and informative (design) career guide for everyone!

Part textbook and part comic book, zine, manifesto, survival guide, and self-help manual, Extra Bold is filled with stories and ideas that don't show up in other career books or design overviews.

• Both pragmatic and inquisitive, the book explores power structures in the workplace and how to navigate them.
• Interviews showcase people at different stages of their careers.
• Biographical sketches explore individuals marginalized by sexism, racism, and ableism.
• Practical guides cover everything from starting out, to wage gaps, coming out at work, cover letters, mentoring, and more.

A new take on the design canon.
• Opens with critical essays that rethink design principles and practices through theories of feminism, anti-racism, inclusion, and nonbinary thinking.
• Features interviews, essays, typefaces, and projects from dozens of contributors with a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, gender identities, and positions of economic and social privilege.
• Adds new voices to the dominant design canon.

Written collaboratively by a diverse team of authors, with original, handcrafted illustrations by Jennifer Tobias that bring warmth, happiness, humor, and narrative depth to the book.Extra Bold is written by Ellen Lupton (Thinking with Type), Farah Kafei, Jennifer Tobias, Josh A. Halstead, Kaleena Sales, Leslie Xia, and Valentina Vergara.

Learn more about Extra Bold!

Ellen Lupton is curator of contemporary design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City and director of the Graphic Design MFA program at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. An author of numerous books and articles on design, she is a public-minded critic, frequent lecturer, and AIGA Gold Medalist.

Farah Kafei is a designer and art director who has led initiatives addressing gender disparity in design education and fostered communities pushing for a more inclusive industry. She's had the pleasure of working for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and studios such as Sagmeister & Walsh and Doubleday & Cartwright.

Jennifer Tobias is a scholar and illustrator. She holds a PhD in art history from the City University of New York, an MLS from Rutgers University, and a BFA from Cooper Union. She served as a librarian at the Museum of Modern Art and Parsons School of Design.

Josh A. Halstead is a design educator and disability studies scholar. A recognized contributor to disability design discourse, he seeks to unsettle power/knowledge in theory and praxis by centering marginalized perspectives.

Kaleena Sales is a design professor at Tennessee State University, an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) in Nashville. Her research centers on the intersection of Black culture and aesthetics and investigates the ways in which identities and experiences impact design solutions.

Leslie Xia is a queer Chinese American art director. They studied graphic design at the Maryland Institute College of Art and have worked for companies like the Foundry at Meredith, Men's Health, VICE News, and Fast Company. Their personal work focuses on race, gender identity, and social justice.

Valentina Vergara is a multidisciplinary designer and illustrator who uses design as a catalyst for change. Her projects and collaborations address gender disparity in graphic design education and explore ways of dismantling oppressive design thinking and advocating for and uplifting marginalized perspectives.