Workshop on Cybersecurity Illustrations

Concept Note

The notions around cybersecurity are deeply influenced by the visual associations available on it in the public sphere. The existing imagery on cybersecurity usually consists of stereotypical visual elements such as a silhouette of a man, binary codes, locks, etc. The dark colour palette in these visuals primarily comprising shades of blues and greens adds to the masculine imagery. The conception of the term is limited by these images. The Centre for Internet and Society hence, plans to engage with the design community in order to examine, explore, and expand this visual narrative of cybersecurity. CIS is organising a workshop on the 15th of November, in collaboration with a design collective in order to brainstorm ideas on creating illustrations for cybersecurity that shift the focus from coding to the human aspects.

Presently, the visuals suggest only data breaches when it comes to cybersecurity. Several nuanced concepts such as the implication on more vulnerable populations are not reflected in the images. The illustrations can also present the different stakeholders in the cybersecurity ecosystem. The workshop would be directed at generating more dialogues on cybersecurity through visuals.

Agenda

• 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.: Introduction and Presentation of the Brief

• 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: Brainstorming session (ideation and suggestions from participants for keywords)

• 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Lunch

• 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.: Breakaway session in groups (creation of draft illustrations)

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You can find the event report here.