Towards an Intersectional Praxis in Design
Master of Design Major Research Project
Keywords: Design anthropology, Intersectionality, Research, Design for Equity, Design for Social Change, Design Criticism, Inclusive Design, Design Pedagogy, Innovation
In coming to OCAD University’s Strategic Foresight and Innovation program I was enticed by the idea of using design thinking and processes applied to systems to look at creating futures. My intention entering SFI was to apply design towards creating futures which are more equitable, if not liberatory.
Working with Dr. Dori Tunstall as my primary advisor, my Research was guided by the question: How might we practice design with an intersectional feminist frame in order to explore designers’ ability to act as agents of change and future making?
Through an autoethnographic lens using methods such as stream of consciousness essay writing and zine making I was able to examine my own experiences as a designer in relation to marginalized identities and the communities these identities are tied to. This research was guided through a lens of my own positionally, understanding this as both a limitation and a structure around which the work is built.
Along with using design methodology to research, using my background in communication design part of the research process and consideration are expressed through the print layout. Though simplified the layout acts in sections to center the work of myself as the author and places citations as marginalia.
Final outcomes of this project included: literature review, speculative design, proposed course design, zines, print design.
Full PDF can be accessed on OCAD University’s Research Repository [link]
