Design Changemakers Digest

A new rhythm to this digest If you’ve been receiving these digests for a while, you’ve probably noticed the frequency of this digest has been shifting from earlier in the year. Writing these digests, holding gatherings, and developing learning resources takes time, care, and energy. While it’s work I love, it hasn’t always been sustainable. Moving forward, you’ll hear from me when there’s something meaningful to share: a gathering you can join, a new blog post, a learning opportunity, or a...

The watering down of DEI and social impact work Are you working in an organization where DEI, social impact, or equity-focused efforts are quietly getting defunded, dismantled, or watered down? You may be seeing... Terms like are “bias,” “racism,” "oppression" —and even "women"— stripped from training content, employee programs, and research. Teams and roles dedicated to this work are being dissolved. Budgets are being slashed. For many of us, the message is clear: this work is seen as too...

This Digest's Highlights: Fear of creating harm to people and planet can hold us back when designing for change. How can we sense our way through challenges? The Grove helps you embody critical reflection and a deep understanding of systems—and tap into collective wisdom—to overcome this fear. Join us for our next Design Changemakers Gathering on May 21st The very real fear of “getting it wrong” Many of us changemakers feel fear of creating harm when we’re designing something that matters....

The horrors of Ghiblification Over the past two weeks, AI-generated images in the style of Studio Ghibli have gone viral. I'm sure you've seen them. You have the more "innocuous" images such as illustrated selfies, family portraits, and memes. But you also have horrific depictions of Nazi rallies, the September 11th tragedy in New York, and even immigrants being forcibly arrested (posted by the White House account on X). Some have found the outputs dreamlike and nostalgic. Others consider...

The Design Changemaking Portal is live! Dear changemakers, After many years of development, I'm excited to introduce you to design changemaking—a design ethos and practice that helps us dismantle oppression and design pathways to liberatory futures. I've brought it to life through an online visual journey at the Design Changemaking Portal. It invites you to see and approach design in ways that are attuned to collective liberation and to justice (and not capitalism). And it's built upon the...

Creativity as resistance TL;DR: We're gathering next Tuesday, March 18th on how can we use our collective creativity to resist oppression. Register here. Throughout history, creativity has been a tool not just for expression, but for survival, defiance, and transformation. When power seeks to erase, creative resistance insists: we are here.When oppression narrows possibilities, creative acts stretch the limits of what we can imagine.When systems of control demand silence, creativity refuses...

Dear changemaker, Most of us have been in workshops, meetings, or trainings that feel…off. Maybe they start abruptly with no grounding. Maybe the same voices dominate, while others shrink back. Maybe the space feels transactional—and it's uncomfortable. What if we designed our gatherings with intention, weaving in moments that break from the usual and move us toward something more relational and playful? Here are three small but powerful practices to bring into your virtual or in-person...

Dear changemaker, What does it mean to design for liberation in a world where oppression is intentionally built into systems? That question has guided the creation of Design Changemaking— foundations for dismantling oppression and co-designing liberatory futures. After years of evolution, I’m excited to finally share this work. What I thought would be a week-long rollout has transformed into a month-long unfolding. Like a field of wildflowers, it's best explored slowly, one bloom at a time....

Can we really design for everyone? One of the things that frustrates me about the phrase "design for everyone” or even "universal design" is that it hides a simple truth: you can’t actually design for everyone. Designing for inclusion, equity and accessibility involves trade-offs. Removing a barrier for one group can inadvertently create new barriers for others. These things aren’t always compatible, and that’s where the real work begins. Case in point: Emojis and (Fake) Formatted Text This...