Design justice network

The Design Justice Network is an international group of people and organizations committed to rethinking design processes so they center people who are often marginalized by design. We work according to a set of principles that were generated and collaboratively edited by our network.

Principle 1
We use design to sustain, heal, and empower our communities, as well as to seek liberation from exploitative and oppressive systems.

Principle 2
We center the voices of those who are directly impacted by the outcomes of the design process.

Principle 3
We prioritize design’s impact on the community over the intentions of the designer.

Principle 4
We view change as emergent from an accountable, accessible, and collaborative process, rather than as a point at the end of a process.

Principle 5
We see the role of the designer as a facilitator rather than an expert.

Principle 6
We believe that everyone is an expert based on their own lived experience, and that we all have unique and brilliant contributions to bring to a design process.

Principle 7
We share design knowledge and tools with our communities.

Principle 8
We work towards sustainable, community-led and -controlled outcomes.

Principle 9
We work towards non-exploitative solutions that reconnect us to the earth and to each other.

Principle 10
Before seeking new design solutions, we look for what is already working at the community level. We honor and uplift traditional, indigenous, and local knowledge and practices.