DesignShift: From Universal Principles to Regional Differences
Why do we keep thinking that designers are unbiased and neutral? Why do we keep thinking that “design” is universal and replicable?
Design is about understanding historical contexts, cultural and environmental nuances, and social and political patterns. These things relate to the place where the design takes place.
As long as we keep thinking that our processes and our people can be applied to any context, culture, or challenge in a formulaic way, we will keep causing unintended harm.
There is nothing neutral about design. It can either harm or help on an individual, cultural, and systematic level.
DesignShift: From universal principles to Regional Differences.
What would it look like to shift our focus from universal principles to local practices? What if we let go of the white supremacy norm of “one objective truth” and invited and celebrated local knowledge as principles for our designs? What would it look like to design with place-fullness in mind?