Principles: Design Justice Movement

How could we redesign design so that those who are normally marginalised by it, those who are characterised as passive beneficiaries of design thinking, become co-creators of solutions, of futures? - Design Justice Zine, Issue 1

Design Justice reimagines the role of a designer as that of a creative facilitator rather than a creative expert. Everyone has the capacity to contribute in unique ways to design processes, and all people are experts in their own experiences. I view the evolving role of the designer as facilitative of the creative contribution of others.

The Design Justice Movement is committed to critical engagement with design for a social purpose and encourages us to ask ourselves of every project:

• Who benefits?
• Who is impacted?
• Who participates?

The Design Justice Movement works to transform the harm that design can create in the world. The following principles are a set of ethical guidelines aimed at ensuring that design practices promote justice, equity, and inclusion, distinct from from design with good intentions, which can be harmful, exclusionary, and can perpetuate the systems and structures that give rise to the need for design interventions in the first place.

Here are the ten principles as outlined by the Design Justice Network:

1. Center the Marginalised: Prioritise the voices and needs of those who are marginalised by design decisions.

2. Design with, Not For: Collaborate directly with communities affected by design projects, rather than imposing solutions from the outside.

3. We Are All Experts: Recognise that everyone has valuable knowledge and experience to contribute to the design process.

4. Everyone is Included: Aim for designs that are accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to all, regardless of background or identity.

5. Embrace Complex Identities: Acknowledge and design for the full complexity of human identity and experience, including intersecting forms of oppression and privilege.

6. Start from a Place of Empathy and Respect: Approach design projects with empathy, humility, and a willingness to learn from others.

7. Be Accountable to the Community: Hold designers and design practices accountable to the communities they serve, rather than prioritising profit or prestige.

8. Challenge Power: Challenge and seek to dismantle structures of domination and exploitation within design and society at large.

9. Facilitate Sustainable, Positive Change: Design with the goal of creating positive social, environmental, and economic impacts, both in the short and long term.

10. Reimagine Relationships: Reimagine and redesign relationships between designers, communities, and the environment based on principles of justice, equity, and solidarity.

These principles guide designers and communities toward creating more equitable and inclusive spaces, systems, and structures.