In a pod interview with the graphic designer and educator, Tove Martens, we discuss how to reach a more responsible and sustainable design. We address problems regarding conventional education in general and design academia in particular, and we examine the design practice and its relation to capitalism and modernity.
Why is design history so focused on heroes and why are they always white men? Why are white men still the ones to decide what constitutes good design for everyone in the world? Why is the heritage of the Enlightenment still so present today?
Why an interview about design?
New media and ICTs have a massive impact on the development in different societies globally. Therefore, we must critically examine the professionals behind these technologies – one being the designer. The designer is a key player in creating both the technology and content, and has the power to foster some real change. So I wonder, why don’t we see more responsible and sustainable design? And how much can we blame design education for all this?
Listen to us discussing the power dynamics at play in design education and design practice. And how we can restructure these dynamics in order to move towards a more responsible and sustainable design:
Please comment below on what part you think stood out in the pod. By joining the discussions you make them even more interesting.
Readings used for quotes and inspiration to the pod discussions:
Birhane, Abeba – The Algorithmic Colonization of Africa
Brock, André – Beyond the Pale
Chin, Elizabeth – Using Fiction to Explore Social Facts in The Routledge Companion to Digital Ethnography
Denskus, Tobias – Aidnography
Epstein, David – Range
Escobar, Arturo – Designs for the Pluriverse
Freire, Paulo – Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Graham, Mark – Digital Economies at Global Margins
Kumar, Anu – Think Global Health
Manyozo, Linje – Communicating Development with Communities
Noble, Safiya Umoja – Algorithms of Oppression
Tunstall, Elizabeth (Dori) – Decolonizing Design Innovation: Design Anthropology, Critical Anthropology and Indigenous Knowledge in Design Anthropology
Willis, Anne-Marie – Transition Design