Abstract
The concept of power can be an effective discursive tool to wield when designing against oppression and designing for joy, desire, and flourishing. While power is a critical concept in oppression, it is underdeveloped in most design methods and practices. This paper makes the case that designers interested in social justice can explore dimensions of power to uncover and redirect bias and inequities in both design processes and outcomes. I summarize the conceptual debates about power's meaning and survey how designers are currently engaging with the concept. I then offer a loose anti-oppressive framework for sensemaking around power in professional and community-based contexts. Designers increasingly committing to social justice can utilize this framework to develop new forms of agency and empower people to mobilize and take action.
Keywords
power; oppression; empowerment; sensemaking; bias
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1139
Citation
Meharry, J. (2024) Sensemaking about power in anti-oppressive design practice, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1139
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Sensemaking about power in anti-oppressive design practice
The concept of power can be an effective discursive tool to wield when designing against oppression and designing for joy, desire, and flourishing. While power is a critical concept in oppression, it is underdeveloped in most design methods and practices. This paper makes the case that designers interested in social justice can explore dimensions of power to uncover and redirect bias and inequities in both design processes and outcomes. I summarize the conceptual debates about power's meaning and survey how designers are currently engaging with the concept. I then offer a loose anti-oppressive framework for sensemaking around power in professional and community-based contexts. Designers increasingly committing to social justice can utilize this framework to develop new forms of agency and empower people to mobilize and take action.