Power Literacy

Abstract

This report outlines the design process, research activities and results of a graduation thesis on power and privilege in multi-stakeholder public and social sector design processes. Due to a perceived gap in the design field, both in education and practice, the aim of this project is to support designers in becoming more aware of power dynamics in their work in order to motivate them to challenge, rather than reproduce, existing inequities. As the result of a number of research activities, a framework for power literacy was developed to meet this aim. In the context of design, power literacy is the ability to be self-aware of, sensitive to and understand the impact of power in the design process, and to then act in a way that aligns outcomes with intentions. The framework focuses on the development of power literacy through the practice of reflexivity—the capacity to identify underlying social structures internalized by yourself and others around you, and to then recognize their impact on power dynamics and equity. By building these skills and making these underlying dynamics more visible, designers will be better equipped to create design processes that are socially just, decolonial and democratic. The framework includes four power literacy skills (recognize, name, understand and act) and five forms of power in the design process (privilege, access power, goal power, role power and rule power). Based on the research and the resulting framework, a design goal, target user group and a number of design requirements were set at the start of an iterative design cycle of ideating, designing and testing. Subsequently, a field guide for power literacy was designed as the final deliverable. The field guide helps designers navigate through the power literacy framework in an educational, interactive and impactful way, supporting them in the development of a number of reflexivity skills. From initial evaluations of the field guide detailed in this report, the design has been able to provoke a deeper (and at times uncomfortable) awareness of power and privilege for designers working on social and public sector projects. Moreover, it has brought about a number of ‘aha’ moments for designers, sparking a greater motivation to challenge inequities within their own design practice.