Bias in Design — Collaborative Workshops
In prep for the next Design for Collective Spaces (DCS) article, we are holding open conversations!
So it’s time to start on my upcoming article for Design for Collective Spaces(DCS), and like each time I start this process — it’s daunting! Where do I start? What if I get it wrong? Who do I talk to?
Well, this time I’m starting with something a little different! Unlike the last two articles (which you can read here and here), I’m starting with a workshop!
While I do at least two weeks worth of call outs for feedback, have a handy-dandy Miro board, and reach out to folks directly — I think it can all be a little overwhelming!
And after many of y’all asked for it, I decided workshops will be the way to go. This way people can block off their time to really think and work collaboratively.
The topics of discussion? Bias in Design
So the upcoming workshops and the subsequent article will be about how bias effects the design process. How it dictates what spaces we enter, how we view the purpose of design, and decide who gets dubbed a designer or not.
It is to help define, refine, and re-define the 3rd principle in the DCS methodology:
Reflect on your biases: Biases dictate the spaces you enter and who you are accountable to. Not all spaces are yours to design in, sometimes the best option is inaction.
When we first created this principle, we had a decent amount of questions/reflections that came along with it. Which I’m going to share now because maybe it will spark something for you:
- What is your position in the world? Your privilege? Your lens?
- How are you accountable? To humans? To non-humans?
- When do you know it’s the right time for design?
- How do I know if I’m the right designer for this?
When it comes to the workshop, I also want to get into topics beyond what we normally see as bias.
While its extremely important we know about it, bias is normally only associated with racial bias. But there are so many different kinds, ones that can be equally insidious and innocuous in our work.
For example, why do we see design as inherently good? Why are we pushing creation over everything else? Why are our measures of sucess always focused on percentages? Profits?
And well… so many more questions, haha.
Hopefully, I’m not the only one thinking about this when the topic “bias” comes up and we can have some good discussions.
So if you like the articles so far, please sign up to participate in the workshops!
If you’re interested in participating, you can sign up through the Eventbrite page (hyperlinked).
There are two dates for you to choose from, each with different times to accommodate for time zones across the globe:
- September 28th: 19h — 20h CEST (meant to accommodate folks in North America)
- October 12th: 11h- 12h CEST (meant to accommodate folks in South America and Asia)
And since Europe and Africa share similar time zones, that should be enough options!