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What We Learned About The Limits Of Design
Design centers a massive promise: that the field can shape the world. How does it fall short?
What made you fall in love with design?
Personally, the field made me feel like I could do anything. Our tools, mindsets, spaces, and creations have stewarded possibility for generations. I remember learning about how the methods of human-centered design — tactical empathy, brainstorming, prototyping, and many more — were tools available to any human that wanted to make something new in the world.
Over time, I learned more about the constraints caused by the actual culture of design. What actually happens in the design community — the artifacts we construct, the processes we develop, the people afforded power, and the spaces we develop — reproduce the same socioeconomic constraints, narratives, and half-measures that we’ve seen throughout the progression of society.
So, instead of asking about what will increase your capacity as a designer, we can ask:
what are the limits of design?
After I originally appeared on the Podcast Design Is Human, they offered the blessed…
