A Visual Response to Mass and Social Media's Negative Portrayal of Mexican Indigenous People: A Cyclical Design Process

Mass media and social media in Mexico have been depicting the visual image of Indigenous people through stereotypes that were established during the Spanish conquest. Not only have these stereotypes shaped the reality of a dominant group over a minority, they have also led to racist and discriminatory practices towards Indigenous people. This thesis creates a cyclical design process based on a practice-lead research and research-lead practice model to conduct a visual exploration. Through a cyclical design process this paper visually examines how the mass and social media in Mexico generates and reinforces stereotypes of Indigenous people. The artifacts designed for this thesis have been created as research pursuits with the intention of encouraging a reflective interaction between the audience and graphic design.