Feminist Designer

A bold and timely collection that brings feminist theory and critical thinking to life through vital, approachable design methods and practices.


Feminist Designer brings together a constellation of voices and perspectives to examine the intersection of design and feminist theory. For decades, the feminist refrain within design has hinged on the representation and inclusion of women in the field. This collection, edited by Alison Place, however, is a call to move beyond this narrow application. Feminist design is not just about who does design—it is about how we do design and why. Feminist frameworks for design activism are now more relevant than ever, as they emphasize collaborative processes that aim to disrupt and dismantle power hierarchies while centering feminist ways of knowing and doing.

The first book in nearly three decades to address such practices in design, Feminist Designer contains essays, case studies, and dialogues by 43 contributors from 16 different countries. It engages a wide variety of design disciplines, from graphic design to disability design to algorithmic design, and explores key feminist themes, such as power, knowledge, care, plurality, liberation, and community. Through diverse, sometimes conflicting, intersectional perspectives, this book contributes new design methods informed by a multiplicity of feminisms that confront design’s patriarchal origins while ushering in new pathways for making critical and meaningful change.

Contributors
Jennifer Armbrust, Dina Benbrahim, Madeline Avram Blount, Elizabeth Byrd, Benedetta Crippa, Alexandra Crosby, Laura Devendorf, Rachael Dietkus, Ashley K. Eberhart, Griselda Flesler, Aimi Hamraie, Gaby Hernández, Alexis Hope, Jeff Kasper, Ellen Kellogg, Aasawari Kulkarni, Eden Laurin, Una Lee, Andrew Mallinson, Claudia Marina, Victor G. Martinez, Lauren Lee McCarthy, Margaret Middleton, Maryam Mustafa, Becky Nasadowski, Maya Ober, Nina Paim, Elizabeth Pérez, Heather Snyder Quinn, Cami Rincón, Jenn Roberts, Velvet A. Johnson Ross, In-ah Shin, Marie Louise Juul Søndergaard, Ayako Takase, Attia Taylor, Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Aggie Toppins, Ilaria Vanni, Joana Varon, Manon Vergerio, Mandy Harris Williams, Sarah WilliamsPreface
Introduction

CHAPTER 1: POWER
On power by Alison Place
On calling yourself a designer Essay by Claudia Marina
On smuggling feminism into design institutions Dialogue with Griselda Flesler
On the contradictions of feminist branding Essay by Aggie Toppins
On fighting the typatriarchy Dialogue with Aasawari Kulkarni
50 questions for every designer Essay by Jennifer Armbrust

CHAPTER 2: KNOWLEDGE
On knowledge by Alison Place
On feminist design that is beyond W.E.I.R.D. Essay by Maryam Mustafa
On mother-centered design Case study by Elizabeth Pérez
On critical frameworks for disability design Dialogue with Aimi Hamraie
On female entrepreneurship and visual storytelling Case study and visual essay by Gaby Hernández
On feminist technology for housing justice Case study by Ashley K. Eberhart, Elizabeth Byrd, Madeline Avram Blount, Manon Vergerio, Velvet A. Johnson Ross

CHAPTER 3: CARE
On care by Alison Place
On intergenerational maternal healing Dialogue with Eden Laurin and Ellen Kellogg
On designing with authenticity over perfection Case study by Rebecca Tegtmeyer
On embodying vulnerability through design Case study by Jeff Kasper
On trauma informed design Dialogue with Rachael Dietkus
On the self-optimization of care Case study by Laura Devendorf
On health and healing in marginalized communities Case study by Attia Taylor
On counter-mapping and co-designing with more-than-humans Case study Alexandra Crosby and Ilaria Vanni

CHAPTER 4: PLURALITY
On plurality by Alison Place
On design pedagogy and empty pluralism Essay by Becky Nasadowski
On challenging power through visual form Dialogue with Benedetta Crippa
On centering trans voices in design Case study by Cami Rincón and Andrew Mallinson
On feminine exhibition design Essay by Margaret Middleton
On matriarchal design education Dialogue with Ayako Takase and Heather Snyder Quinn
On design histories woven in patriarchy Essay by Dina Benbrahim

CHAPTER 5: LIBERATION
On liberation by Alison Place
On creating spaces for Black women to heal, dream and innovate Dialogue with Jenn Roberts
On feminist hackathons Case study by Alexis Hope
On envisioning alternative transfeminist futures Case study by Joana Varon
On staying with the trouble of future technologies Essay by Marie Louis Juul Søndergaard
On building consentful technology Case study by Una Lee

CHAPTER 6: COMMUNITY
On community by Alison Place
On community as a process of working towards Dialogue with Sarah Williams and Mandy Harris Williams
On making code accessible and inclusive Case study by Lauren Lee McCarthy
On building a flexible and borderless feminist community Case study by In-ah Shin
On being a male feminist designer: a path of understanding Essay by Victor G. Martinez
On the futures(s) of feminist design Dialogue with Maya Ober and Nina Paim

Recommended Readings
Acknowledgements
References
IndexIncluded in Fast Company's "5 essential design books to read this fall"

"What is the relationship between feminist theory and design practice? This is the question that frames the essays, conversations, and case studies that designer and educator Alison Place has put together here. Moving beyond narrow questions of representation and inclusion, Feminist Designer instead asks how we design and why. In a work of theory that is also accessible, Place and her contributors make the case that feminist theory—and feminism more generally—provides an opportunity to interrogate the role of power, knowledge, care, community, and more in the designed systems and artifacts that surround us."
—Fast Company

"The book looks at all these mediations through a feminist lens, asking that designers, and anyone engaged with design (which is all of us) be alert to the implicit bias in our designed world, and its entanglement in power structures and oppressive systems. The book, which includes work from 43 contributors across 16 countries, answers how to make design socially beneficial, looking at graphic, interior, exhibition, AI, product, disability, and design education, demanding an examination of the ways designed objects and systems reinforce or undermine oppression. The book is divided into six thematic chapters: power, knowledge, care, plurality, liberation, and community."
—The Boston Globe


“This book will be an invaluable resource for design educators and practitioners, challenging what we thought we knew while opening new possibilities for being and designing”
—Metropolis “A joyful explosion of feminist design perspectives. Women and nonbinary designers—Black, Indigenous, white, queer, disabled, mothers, and aunties—are reclaiming ‘innovation’ from patriarchy and demanding space for pleasure, care, community, and collective liberation. A must-read for designers of all genders.”
—Catherine D'Ignazio, Associate Professor and Director of the Data + Feminism Lab, MIT; coauthor of Data Feminism
 
“In this groundbreaking book, Place challenges us to reimagine design and its role in feminism, social justice, capitalism, and our own lives. This book is a pivotal point in the way we will study, conceive, and practice design.”
—Robin Landa, Distinguished Professor, Michael Graves College, Kean UniversityAlison Place is a designer, educator, and researcher who practices feminism through design. She is Assistant Professor of Graphic Design in the School of Art at the University of Arkansas.