Co-Creating the pluriversal design studio

Description

This session introduces participants to critical theory that will help them to understand why design education, research and practice need to be decolonized. Participants will leave with strategies that they can actually apply to their work. Pluriversal design education can be seen as hybridization that will lead to a new form of practice and maybe even new disciplines as designers learn to use a wide variety of perspectives and philosophies to inform their practice.

Timetable

10 min Reflection on positionality 10 min Introduction to key terms: decolonization, hegemony, pluriversality, liberation etc. 10 min Group activity 1: Critical theory games 10 min Debrief 10 min Group Activity 2: Co-create Strategies for pluriversal and anti-hegemonic design practice, research and education 10 min Group Activity 3: Write your Individual Manifesto 10 min Group Activity 4: Co-create an Industry Action plan 10 min Group debrief

90 min Activities 3 and 4 may be merged to allow more time for discussion.

Interaction

Participants will collaborate on activities in small groups via Mural and Googledocs. A breakout room feature will allow greater participation. However participants will still be able to participate even if they opt to not join the break out room, or if this feature is not available.

Takeaway

Participants will know key strategies that they can immediately apply to promote inclusive design practice where multiple perspectives are welcome.

Outcomes

The content from this workshop will feed into a blog post. It may also be included in future academic publications.

Abstract

In this interactive workshop participants will be introduced to concepts from critical theory such as decoloniality, pluriversality, anti-hegemony and liberation through ludic activities developed around the Designer's Critical Alphabet to understand this theory. They will use the reflection points on several cards to help understand design practice, research and education through the various lenses. Participants will reflect collectively on different aspects of design work and will co-create strategies that lead to anti-hegemonic and pluriversal design education, research and practice where multiple perspectives are welcome. Participants will create individual manifestoes with guiding principles for their own work. Finally they will create collective action plans that the design industry in general can use to make the industry a more welcome place for people from diverse backgrounds.