Design results in benefits for certain groups. A design might improve people’s quality of life, make the world more just, or allow people to profit. We engage in projects where the greatest benefits flow to those who need them most.

All design has the potential to create harm. That harm can look like the creation of oppressive systems, the appropriation of cultural practices, the extraction of community knowledge, and much more. We strive for our work to prevent and transform design’s harms by co-creating with those who have been or could be impacted.

Most design processes include only the most powerful people, whether the process is happening across an entire economy or in a single community. This results in design’s greatest benefits flowing to those with the most power. Our work — along with the organizations we partner with — centers BIPOC, immigrant, poor & working class, and disabled communities.

The design justice movement works to transform the harm that design can create in the world. It does this by advocating for communities that are affected by injustice to meaningfully participate in and benefit from design processes and outcomes.