5.3 Part 2
Section 1: 'Wikipedia-style' Entry
Greg Bunbury
Greg Bunbury is a Black British Designer, Public speaker, University Lecturer and D&I consultant, with Caribbean heritage, born and raised in London, England. Additionally, he is the founder of the Design for Social Impact initiative, as his work primarily revolves around anti-racism and political content; he states, “I use my voice to educate, engage, and share my extensive experience”.
Whilst Bunbury is a design based University lecturer and public speaker upon topics of culture and diversity, his personal work consists of illustration, marketing, typography, digital and physical print-work, campaigns and more. Bunbury consistently shares that the focus of his work is to advocate and uplift the discussion of inclusivity and equality, saying: “Art cannot produce societal change itself, but it can disrupt”.
Education and Career
Kickstarting his career, Bunbury received a bachelor's degree for BA Design Studies at London Metropolitan University (from 1995 to 1999) and has now had over 20 years of experience within the British design industry.
2003 – freelance graphic design
2003-2004 – Graphic Designer at Lebara
2004-2005 – Web Manager/Graphic Designer at Joy
2005-2006 – Graphic Designer/Studio Manager at GES EMEA
2006-2010 – Head of Creative at OneGTM
2010-present – GD consultant for Bunbury Co.
2022-2025 – Associate Lecturer at University of Reading
2023-2024 – Associate Lecturer at London Met University
2024-2025 – Sessional Lecturer at Ravensbourne Uni London
2025-present – Senior Lecturer at Ravensbourne Uni London
Since starting Bunbury Co. in 2010, Bunbury has worked with many high-profile clients including Capital FM, Samsung, Heart Radio, Old El Paso, Sony Pictures, Jaguar, International Hotel Group, Capital Records UK, Time Out Magazine, BMG UK, The London Lions and many more. As well as this, Bunbury is also dedicated and active in consistent charity work, working with social, non-profit and community organizations such as Louder Than Words, WWF, HubDot and more.
Projects
During the Black Lives Matter Movement (2020-2023), Bunbury, in collaboration with Brotherhood Media, curated an initiative named ‘Black Outdoor Art’ that aims to create a platform and form a community for other black artists to share creative expression.
The initiative utilized outdoor marketing such as large billboards across London, Bristol and Leeds to publicize their media, allowing passers by to view and engage. “The goal of the initiative is to inspire discussion, activism and change” - Greg Bunbury.
In homage to his Caribbean culture in 2022, Bunbury created a piece titled ‘Black History Addendum’ displaying a quote (using his font ‘Empire Windrush’) discussing Caribbean migration surrounded by the West Indies Islands flags .
This specific Black Outdoor Art work gained popularity and significant media publicity during the BLM movement, however spiked controversy due to its lack of inclusion of other cultures facing similar issues at the time.
In addition to this, Bunbury hosted a podcast named ‘ Design For The People’, which was started in 2020 and following the last episode, ended in April 2021. He posted a total of 12 episodes featuring a different black British designer in each episode, to discuss the use of art and design in respect to social and political change.
Awards
Over the course of his career, Bunbury has gained multiple awards for his work and contributions, including:
Best Poster Gold Award 2013 – The Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Best film poster award for ‘The Battery’, by Greg Bunbury
Best Integrated Marketing Gold Award 2011 – MIMA, Gold Award Winner Best Integrated Marketing for Windulge.
Excellence Awards Best Integrated Campaign (finalist) 2009 – CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations), Best Integrated Campaign (finalists) for ‘Words Unite’
Gold Award Winner Best Direct Marketing 2008 – Meetings Industry Marketing Awards, Best Direct Marketing For Rezidor ‘Golden Chance’
References
Bunbury, G. (2024) About, Greg Bunbury Graphic Design for Social Impact. Available at: https://bunbury.co/about
Bunbury, G. (2012) Greg Bunbury - graphic designer, illustrator, artist, creative consultant in London, United Kingdom, Behance. Available at: https://www.behance.net/GBunbury
Bunbury, G. (2022) Where are all the African flags?, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@gregbunbury/where-are-all-the-african-flags-50dde5dd1ea6
Black Lives Matter (2025). About Black Lives Matter. [online] Black Lives Matter. Available at: https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/.
WWF. (2020). Explore our Just Imagine creative call out. [online] Available at: https://www.wwf.org.uk/just-imagine
Itsnicethat.com. (2024). How graphic designer Greg Bunbury built an authentically activist career. [online] Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/nicer-tuesdays-june-2024-greg-bunbury-280624.
Artuk.org. (2020). Black Outdoor Art | Art UK. [online] Available at: https://artuk.org/visit/venues/black-outdoor-art-7882
Media, B. (2025). Brotherhood Media. [online] Brotherhood Media. Available at: https://www.brotherhood-media.co.uk/
Behance.net. (2025). Behance. [online] Available at: https://www.behance.net/GBunbury
Victoria (2023). Shout | Bunbury, Greg | V&A Explore The Collections. [online] Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. Available at: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1746537/shout-poster-bunbury-greg/
Linkedin.com. (2025). Greg Bunbury - Ravensbourne University London | LinkedIn. [online] Available at: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/gregbunbury
Section 2: Argument
Greg Bunbury, a Black British designer, lecturer, public speaker and D&I consultant of Caribbean heritage creates political based print and media in an aim to advocate for anti-racism and bring discussion to marginalized cultures and inclusion. His work consistently displays this, through his charitable efforts and campaigns he has created, such as the Black Outdoor Art initiative he curated, alongside Brotherhood Media in 2020. Bunbury quotes “Art cannot produce societal change itself, but it can disrupt”, which accurately represents his approach and reasoning towards the Black Outdoor Art initiative; to create a platform for other British, black artists, allowing them to have creative expression and freedom to discuss the discourse of the BLM movement, and racist and cultural based ideals as a whole, publicly.
‘Black History Addendum’ in specific, is a piece of work Bunbury created for Black Outdoor Art in 2022, showcasing a large quote, using his font ‘Empire Windrush’ discussing Caribbean migration within the uk, bordered by the flags of the West Indies Islands.
The piece was on multiple billboards throughout London, and gained significant public attraction and media attention during the Black Lives Matter movement. Initially after the poster went viral, the public response was only positive, as it resonated with people of similar backgrounds at the time, however, it was later criticized due to its lack of inclusion to other cultures facing the same discrimination. In response to the negative backlash, Bunbury stated that Black History Addendum was “ An expression within a sea of expression. The reality of diversity and the scope of the Black experience. A lens, not a window”. Bunbury’s work is highly important, as it provides a perspective that is often overlooked within the design industry, and represents the black experience in modern day society.
Even in 2025, the graphic design industry is still occupied and dominated mainly by white men, which in turn, underrepresents other graphic designers of minority backgrounds, whose work is just as, if not more significant and important. In 2021, The UK Design Council performed a study showing that only 13% of UK designers are from Black, Asian, or other minority backgrounds. This, undoubtedly, is a significant issue, and highlights that change within the industry is overdue; “the manifestations of anti-Black racism in technological design and deployment cannot go unnoticed and unchallenged” - The Black Experience in Design.
Whilst Burbury’s work signifies this change, and contributes significantly to the visibility and representation of black artists within the industry, it could be argued that his work is being tokenized. Tokenism is often described as a person or group of people who make an ingenuine effort of recognition usually involving groups of minority, and in Bunbury’s case, may allude to the decline in popularity of his work once the Black Lives Matter movement was less prevalent within the media. Despite Bunbury initiating important change within the industry, all aspects of his activism-based work challenges industry norms, and may be the reason why he is undeservingly under-credited, proving the fragility of minority recognition within the design community. This is supported by Denise Miller, a Professor at the University of Greenwich, who stated that “the superficial engagement with Black history suggests a lack of genuine interest in systemic change or ongoing engagement”.
In summary, regarding representation within the graphic design industry, tokenism and, as Sarah Ahmed claimed: ‘performative inclusion’, can often be used in replacement of true visibility, providing the illusion of equality instead of real recognition. This proves that visibility within the industry regarding minority designers often is linked to diversity, however isn’t always for the right reasons. Simba Ncube, a graduate from Central Saint Martins, once stated that “when Western conventions are centered in design, this means that anything else is seen as ‘different’”, proving that the industry is often prejudiced and biased towards people of minority.
Bibliography
Bunbury, G. (2024) About, Greg Bunbury Graphic Design for Social Impact. Available at: https://bunbury.co/about
Bunbury, G. (2012) Greg Bunbury - graphic designer, illustrator, artist, creative consultant in London, United Kingdom, Behance. Available at: https://www.behance.net/GBunbury
Bunbury, G. (2022) Where are all the African flags?, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@gregbunbury/where-are-all-the-african-flags-50dde5dd1ea6
Khandwala, A. (2020) What does it mean to decolonize design?, Eye on Design.
Available at: https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/what-does-it-mean-to-decolonize-design/
Ahmed, S. (2012). On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1131d2g
Berry, A.H., Collie, K., Penina Acayo Laker, Noel, L.-A., Rittner, J. and Walters, K. (2022). The Black experience in design : identity, expression & reflection. New York: Allworth Press. Pg 343.
The class ceiling in the Creative Industries (2024) Creative Access. Available at: https://creativeaccess.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/07/the-class-ceiling-in-the-creative-industries-report-2024.pdf
Lupton, E. (2020). Extra bold : a feminist inclusive anti-racist non-binary field guide for graphic designers. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Pg 164.
Miller, D. (2024). Black History Month: Moving beyond tokenism. [online] Bera.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/black-history-month-moving-beyond-tokenism.