why design so white?
even by design is mostly rants about the homogeneity of the design space, but also tangible tools and exercises to expand it
If you’re here (thank you!), you are probably frustrated with how design (industry/practice/discourse) is not immune to whitewashing. Once upon a time, white men took whatever they could name as their own, even if it meant dispossessing or erasing all traces of those who actually owned (versions) it. Design is one of such things.
Every community around the world has practised and has developed a philosophy about design for millennia. Yet, today, only designers trained in the Western canon get to call themselves designers. Everyone else is an artisan, or if they are lucky, an artist.
I have not yet found a (convincing) dialectical distinction between design, craftsmanship, and art. It seems to me that who gets to call themselves a designer vs. an artisan vs. an artist is more informed by race, socio-economic class and geopolitical positionality. The same goes for how design is practised. The same goes for what tools, experiences, spaces, and interactions get to be designed.
even by design is a space where:
I explore WTF design is, beyond its whitewashed legacy
I discuss what I have learned as a black woman in design
I share tools, thought experiments, exercises for designers and teams trying to expand their process and include a broader range of practices/perspectives.
Since I started my career in design, I have gone through a long and steady process of internalized erasure as I tried to fit into this world. So this space is also a healing practice for me.
Once a month, you’ll hear from me. If you feel strongly about anything I have shared, good and bad, let’s engage.