Politics of Design

Design is never neutral, every decision we make as designers carries values, politics, and power. This session explores the politics of

This is a sharing session on the politics of design and how designers can deal with the power built into design artifacts. It is more a sharing and discussion session than a hands on workshop, so join if you are interested.

Years ago I worked as a design consultant and I kept running into the same wall. No matter how thoughtfully I approached a design, the final decision always came from upper management. I could push, question, and intervene, but the outcome stayed inside an existing power structure. Sometimes it made a difference, sometimes it did not.

That is when it became clear to me that design is not neutral. Designers are often trained to solve problems in a clean setting for innovation, but we are rarely taught how power operates. We seldom stop to ask who holds the power, whose interests we are serving, and what kinds of realities our design decisions help to stabilize.

This realization led me to dive into the topic of the politics of design. I explore how designers might respond to these dynamics, whether by trying to level the field through design or by actively challenging and shifting existing structures through design interventions. 

In this session I will share all the parts of this exploration and open a conversation on how we as designers can navigate the politics already present in design artifacts and take responsibility for the values we choose to support.

Host – Sen Lin