We’re seeking support for a new book based on our award-winning touring exhibition, We Design: People. Practice. Progress. Our goal is to raise $15,000 in the first 24 hours! You can pledge to support our upcoming crowdfunding campaign, before it launches on Kickstarter on May 3 and get your book when it launches later this year.

Pledge now and we’ll contact you on May 3 to complete your pledge on Kickstarter on May 3.

We Design: People. Practice. Progress. is a publication focused on the intersectional identities of designers belonging to historically marginalized communities and it celebrates the identities of designers and their creative process. The book also features dialogue on how identity relates to design and inspires young designers to create with authenticity.

At CoDesign Everywhere, we believe design can change the world. And those who affix the title “designer” in their professional or personal lives are subsequently the builders, fixers, and problem solvers of our world. But “designer” is too simple a title to encapsulate the history, experiences, and full identities of the humans behind design.

“What an opportunity to be intentional about making sure design is as diverse as possible!”

— Dr. Darnell L. Williams, President, Urban League of Eastern MA

Through case studies, featured profiles, interviews, and personal essays, this upcoming publication inspired by our nationally-touring We Design exhibition asks 41 individuals working across a range of design fields to share who they are, how they built their creative career, and how their identities shape their design process. This book explores personal identity through a deep dive into the worlds of women, gender-expansive, Black, Indigenous, and people of color working in design.

We Design: People. Practice. Progress. features both student and professional essays. With an eye toward the future of design, the publication highlights five student essays at the beginning of each chapter. Each essay brings into focus issues young designers are facing today and how these issues intersect with their own identities.

Essays:

• Architecture That Impacts Community and a Community That Impacts Architecture by Nicholas Xavier Fernandes
• Love Sourcing: Finding Sustainability Through the Intangible by Bakari Akinyele
• Mindful Feedback by Catherine Clarke
• Leveraging Design Through Leadership by Humaira Tasneem
• Nails for an Invisible City: On Invisibility, Disability, and Design by Emerson Goo
• Public Art & Community by Kendra Roberts
• Straddling the Seesaw by Susan Piedmont-Palladino

The publication also highlights leaders in the design field with featured designer profiles, case studies on projects and businesses that are changing the world, and interviews with exciting design professionals.

Featured Profiles:

• Gabrielle Bullock, Principal, Director of Global Diversity at Perkins & Will
• Alex Dang, Advanced Exterior Designer
• Angela Medlin, Founder and Director, The Functional Apparel and Accessories Studio (FAAS) at PENSOLE x PNCA
• Precious Bugarin, Senior Instructor School of Art + Design Portland State University Graphic Design Program
• Oen Michael Hammonds, IBM Design Principal
• Phil Freelon, Design Director of the North Carolina practice of Perkins and Will
• Fan Bi, Co- Founder of Blank Label
• De Nichols, Senior UX Researcher at YouTube, author, and social practice artist
• Elyse Ayoung, Interior Designer at Gensler
• Fady Saad, Co-founder and Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at MassRobotics
• Tonie Esteban, Associate Principal at BRIC Architecture
• Fonz Morris, Lead Product Designer, Global Conversion at Netflix
• Clint Ramos, Costume Designer and Creative Producer
• Taniya Nayak, Interior Designer and Founder of Taniya Nayak Design
• MegZany, Graffiti Artist

Case Studies:

• Shannon Maldonado’s Shop Yowie
• Modjossorica “Rica” Elysee Ndiaye’s Beauty Lynk
• Favianna Rodriguez and The Center for Cultural Power
• Maria Molteni and New Craft Artists in Action
• Saba Ghole’s Nuvu Studio
• Noèl Puèllo Design
• Mikyoung Kim Design
• Marli Washington’s GC2B
• Liz Obgu’s Studio O
• Bless by Bless’ Army of Luv
• Ade Hassan’s Nubian Skin
• Suenn Ho’s Garden of Surging Waves
• Pascale Sablan, Architect and Activist
• Lani Asuncion’s Duty Free Paradise
• Modjossorica “Rica” Elysee Ndiaye’s Beauty Lynk
• Bless By Bless ΛRMY OF LUV by Bless Mazarura

Interviews with:

• Rachel Smith, Freelance Editor and Content Designer
• Candy Chang, Artist
• George Aye, Founding Partner at Greater Good Studio
• Dewayne Dale Jr., Footwear Designer
• De Nichols, Senior UX Researcher at YouTube, author, and artist

We believe design can change the world. Done well, it can elevate our quality of life, make businesses more competitive, and protect our environment. Design awareness, education, and expertise are more important now than ever before as design continues to impact communities, organizations, and markets around the world.

We also believe that innovation cannot happen without diversity. The histories and identities of designers ultimately inform their practice, and innovation occurs when designers of different backgrounds can bring their whole selves to a project. Further, we believe that designing for a group or community without including that community in the process is a behavior rooted in colonialism and white supremacy. The 41 design stories featured in We Design: People. Practice. Progress. are examples of designers who refuse the confines of white supremacy and are creating innovative products and strategies at the forefront of contemporary design.

Our work on We Design began in 2016 when the U.S. Presidential Election stoked racism and xenophobia. We stand with those working to dismantle white supremacy and redesign every system to be just, compassionate, and equitable. At CoDesign Everywhere, we aim to make meaningful change within the design industry. This book and our continued work on the We Design project is one of the ways we’re doing the work to help create that just, equitable future. CoDesign Collaborative is honored to bring attention to their work through the We Design exhibitions, cards, and now – a publication!

We aim to raise $30,000 via this Kickstarter project to help fund the final phase of We Design: People. Practice. Progress.’s development. The content is complete; we’ll use your support to finish the design, do the final copyediting, and print the first run of 1,000 books. Your support will also underwrite the cost of paying our student and professional essayists for their contributions to the book. We anticipate finishing the book design and sending it to the printer in June 2022 and shipping the first run of books in Fall 2022.