Decolonizing Design Community of Practice
Design Challenge // How might we decolonize our practices?
Project // Decolonizing Design exists to provide a safe space for designers* and change alchemists interested in sharing knowledge and different ways of knowing and being while (un)learning, experimenting with, and co-creating tools and methodologies to decolonize our practices.
* we hold this term loosely and believe everyone is a designer.
Design made colonialism and its continued effects possible. We’re part of a movement working to make it impossible, by design. We exist to decolonize design while designing for decolonization.
To our community, decolonizing design involves reflecting, challenging and transforming design’s role in perpetuating colonialism, systemic and structural oppression in all forms.
🔍 Reflecting: critically examining history, culture and current practices to gain a deeper understanding of design's role in perpetuating colonialism as well as how coloniality shows up in the way we design. Seeking indigenous knowledge and other ways of knowing, being and doing.
🌱 Challenging: questioning the assumptions and biases encoded in our design principles and practices and unlearning harmful narratives. In doing so, we commit to seeking, honoring and amplifying what already exists and works well.
💡 Transforming: continuously working to decolonize the way we work, de-center ourselves and shift power to communities under-served by mainstream systems in service of justice, healing and collective liberation. In doing so we commit to designing thoughtfully and intentionally to meet the needs of the present while considering its impact on future generations, communities, living beings and the planet.
📝 Join our (Slack) community: A hub for connecting, collaborating, knowledge sharing, community building, and learning from each other's experiences. Please complete this form and we’ll send you an invite within 48 hours.
🫱🏽🫲🏾 Read our community agreements here.
📚 Visit our resource library here.
👋🏽 We gather on the third Friday of every month. Gatherings range from book clubs, peer learning circles, uncomfortable conversations and decolonizing design labs.
For questions, please contact me.
