Making design more just

Design justice is a long term vision of liberatory design practice that centers and uplifts communities facing injustice. To move this work forward, the Design Justice Network organizes people from a variety of design backgrounds including graphic, architecture, planning, visual art, and people who are impacted by design, to create work and processes according to a set of shared principles. We will come together to build, reflect on, and share more just and collaborative ways of practicing design — ways that will support communities who are often harmed by or excluded from design processes. We will explore the traditional barriers between the different actors in the design process, and deconstruct the barriers by sharing and increasing access to skills, resources, and connections/support. Participants, both designers and people who are affected by design, will learn how to mobilize the design justice principles in their own work.

Proposal submissions are due by March 16th.

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Design justice rethinks design processes, centralizing people who are normally marginalized by design and using collaborative creative practices to address current challenges in our communities. Developed during the 2015 and 2016 Allied Media Conferences, these principles help establish a shared definition of design justice.

The people who are most adversely affected by design decisions – whether they relate to visual culture, the planning of our communities, or the structure of political and economic systems – tend to have the least influence on those decisions and how they are made. How can design better support communities facing injustice? How can we foster design processes, and not just products, that uplift our movements’ values? How are we breaking down the barriers within our fields?

Does your design practice, creative process, or approach to community organizing align with the Design Justice principles? If so, we invite you to submit a proposal to the Design Justice Track at AMC2018. We are looking for designers, community organizers, planners, and those who feel kinship with the principles of Design Justice to propose hands-on workshops, scenario-based trainings, skillshares, and sessions. We will also be accepting submitted work to be shared in the Design Justice Zine.

We welcome proposals that build upon, demonstrate, and/or seek to challenge the guiding principles of our network.

Sessions should explore:

  • Diversity within design practice and community organizing
  • Expanding perceived definitions of design
  • Examples of design justice principles in action
  • Roles of community participation within design justice
  • Design justice examples within Detroit

For more information about proposals and zine submissions please contact the Design Justice Network at designjusticenetwork@gmail.com

Proposal submissions are due by March 16th.