Matriarchal Design Futures

Matriarchal Design Futures is a non-capitalistic, non-hierarchical pedagogical framework that centers on the practices and values of caregiving and nurturing. This framework applies to all identities: caregivers, mothers, those who are not mothers, women, men, and nonbinary alike. 

We ask—what would happen if a matriarchal design pedagogy was considered, our patriarchal training was unlearned, and we abandoned solutionism for unknowing—replacing human-centered design by genuinely designing for the pluriverse?

What would happen if we smashed the podium and instead created a non-hierarchical, non-linear approach to learning? Might we see that the competitive, elitist approach to design education and practice could be abandoned for something more caring and restorative? And if we begin this at the root—at the very beginning of our students’ studies—can the field change from singular and privileged to more open, collaborative, and anti-exceptional?

Can we make design school and the design field feel welcoming to all who desire to be there—not just those who already fit in? Is it even possible to de-couple design from whiteness, consumerism, capitalism, growth, and competition?