Black Transparency: The Right to Know in the Age of Mass Surveillance

A book-length essay on involuntary disclosure, leaks and whistleblowing, written by a design studio rather than a policy analyst.

Metahaven uses the term black transparency for information that escapes against the will of its keepers, and follows it through international relations, the ethics of whistleblowers and the surveillance of everyday digital life. The book mixes essay and fanzine formats, and ties transparency to design, architecture and popular culture. Sternberg Press published it in October 2015 in its Design series.

Metahaven is Vinca Kruk and Daniel van der Velden, who founded the studio in 2007. Its work includes the visual identity for WikiLeaks and the book Uncorporate Identity (2010).