Anti-Oppression Mindsets for Collaborative Design

Abstract

There is a growing synergy between design research and social justice. As design moves from commercial contexts into the community, we become advocates for creating more inclusive and equitable systems. But the traditionally nonpolitical posture of design practice leaves us ill-equipped for approaching complex challenges. Learning new approaches to be open to other perspectives improves our insights and fosters deeper collaboration. Without an awareness of historical privilege and oppression, we can unintentionally harm the people with whom we collaborate. Design Research practices are not yet considerate of people at the margins– people we may be working side by side with to unravel wicked problems. Drawing from multi- cultural psychology and design for social justice, I propose ways that collaborative design projects can be more aware of power and equity throughout the process.