This graduation project explores how white people can break their reproduction cycle of systemic racism. As a result this thesis proposes the final design REcolor, a consecutive three step process that visualizes employees’ apparent normal within work related situations. It appeals to the Dutch belief that manifestations of racism are wrong in order to adjust their behavior regarding reproduction of racism.

Within the first phase of this project the context exploration has been examined through an exploration of the systemic level of racism revealing how it touches upon individuals, organizations and institutions. In which manifestations are embedded within cultural and institutional processes. The exploration continued with a focus on the reproduction of the individual within the context of Dutch society. While white Dutch citizens have no intention of executing manifestations of racism, they unconsciously continue to be reinforced and reproduce the cycle of racial injustice. In which white people behave according to the norm that is reinforced through social structures of the dominant culture. Allowing white Dutch people to remain ignorant towards their own manifestations of racism during social interactions.

Continuous context exploration of institutional racism placed these individuals in the social structures of organizations and institutions. As such, decisions and products individuals make at work are influenced by their reinforced social structures. Via the distribution of these products like a meeting agenda or a policy within the social network of an organization they gain a power of influence. In other words, organizations hold power to influence the reproduction of during their social interactions via their created in/visible elements. Based on these insights a focus has been put on the individual with unintended racially unjust decisions during work situations. Combined with both the insights of white Dutch people that are unaware of racial reproductions and the acceptance of these as the norm, the design statement became:

‘In order to reduce systemic racism, I want white people to break with work oriented reproduction of racially unjust choices by broaching their apparent normal for review so they can adjust their actions towards their beliefs.’

The final design of this thesis exploration is REcolor, intersecting at individual and organizational levels of systemic racism by visualizing shared individual actions, allowing people to be critical towards the current organizational culture. Reveal is the first step, and visualizes the social relations of an organization to allow participants to be critical upon the societal contribution of the organization. Reflect is the second step in which participants are confronted with the effects of unintended behaviors during social interactions through dilemmas about institutionalized situations at work. Redirect is the third and final step in which a new shared social structure is documented on a visible element allowing participants to monitor undesired behaviors despite the intentions of the actor. Crossing of these manifestations from the visible elements confronted participants with their self perception of an equal society and involvement with racially unjust decisions. The three distinct steps of REcolor facilitate employees to broach manifestations of racism in social interactions in order to adjust their behavior regarding reproduction of racism.