Design map
I've spent significant amount of time considering my responsibility as a designer. Here are 4 design "manifestos" that guide my practice.
To be a designer is to have privilege
Examining design means examining systems—their structures, relationships, and impact. Along the way, four elements stopped me in my tracks: positionality, privilege, power, and politics. Each holds layers of complexity, and as designers, we have a responsibility to understand our individual and collective relationships to them—even when it’s uncomfortable, painful, or forces us to confront difficult legacies. This wasn’t my first time encountering these concepts, but truly unpacking what they meant for me in design was pivotal. Recognizing positionality, privilege, and power isn’t just about awareness—it’s about acknowledging the broader influence of our designs and the responsibility we carry because of that. It calls for greater care, intentionality, and thoughtfulness. At the heart of this pursuit is exactly that—the heart. It’s where understanding begins, where reflection deepens, and where knowledge becomes something we act on.
Slow down to speed up
Building on the previous point, I believe designers need to pause before creating, or at the very least, before releasing their work into the world. They must take a step back to examine what they’re designing, who they’re designing for, and why they’re designing in the first place.
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And to do this well, you have to slow down… to then speed up.
Design, historically tied to colonization and production, often prioritizes rapid solutions over thoughtful ones. But meaningful design requires time—the time that ideas, projects, and communities truly deserve. A slower, more intentional approach creates space for ideas to bloom, relationships to take root, and designs to flourish.
Design is storytelling
Design is storytelling, and the stories we choose to illustrate, tell, write, and share matter. Tell your story—but just as importantly, make space for others to tell theirs. There is danger in a singular narrative dominating discourse. The call, then, is to create platforms that nurture multiple voices and advocate for language justice. True liberation isn’t found in a single language but in recognizing all languages as pathways to freedom. By centering storytelling, we can amplify diverse voices and lived experiences—an essential step in crafting inclusive methods and frameworks that reflect the richness of the world around us.
The spaces design occupies
The spaces we design—whether in cities, schools, machine learning systems, healthcare settings, or even the algorithms shaping our online experiences—profoundly influence how we relate to one another and our environment. Physical structures shape human interactions, just as our social and cultural dynamics shape the spaces we inhabit. Too often, an us versus them mindset emerges within these designed spaces, underscoring the need to understand the systems at play. System mapping becomes crucial here, helping us navigate these complex interactions—especially since design is deeply rooted in the specific physical and social contexts it occupies. At its core, design is about facilitation. Designers serve as bridge-builders, bringing together diverse perspectives and creating spaces that foster connection rather than division.