Name: Allison King's review of Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock
Item: Design Justice
Rating: 5
Author: Allison King

Sasha Costanza-Chock

An exploration of how design might be led by marginalized communities, dismantle structural inequality, and advance collective liberation and ecological survival. What is the relationship between design, power, and social justice? “Design justice” is an approach to design that is led by marginalized communities and that aims expilcitly to challenge, rather than reproduce, structural inequalities. It has emerged from a growing community of designers in various fields who work closely with social movements and community-based organizations around the world. This book explores the theory and practice of design justice, demonstrates how universalist design principles and practices erase certain groups of people—specifically, those who are intersectionally disadvantaged or multiply burdened under the matrix of domination (white supremacist heteropatriarchy, ableism, capitalism, and settler colonialism)—and invites readers to “build a better world, a world where many worlds fit; linked worlds of collective liberation and ecological sustainability.” Along the way, the book documents a multitude of real-world community-led design practices, each grounded in a particular social movement. Design Justice goes beyond recent calls for design for good, user-centered design, and employment diversity in the technology and design professions; it connects design to larger struggles for collective liberation and ecological survival.

Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need

Design Justice

Piet Terheyden

Allison King

This one has been my favorite of the tech + social justice books I’ve read. It’s clearly structured and loaded with examples of what various organizations are or aren’t doing to work towards design justice. Whereas other books I’ve read focused on the many problems in tech, this one also had enough examples of solutions and what people are currently working on so that the problems felt tractable rather than despairing.

Piet Terheyden &
Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock

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Piet Terheyden &Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock

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Join the club

Piet Terheyden &
Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock