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Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook
A guidebook to the institutional transformation of design theory and practice by restoring the long-excluded cultures of Indigenous, Black, and People of Color communities.
From the excesses of world expositions to myths of better living through technology, modernist design, in its European-based guises, has excluded and oppressed the very people whose lands and lives it reshaped. Decolonizing Design first asks how modernist design has encompassed and advanced the harmful project of colonization—then shows how design might address these harms by recentering its theory and practice in global Indigenous cultures and histories.
A leading figure in the movement to decolonize design, Dori Tunstall uses hard-hitting real-life examples and case studies drawn from over fifteen years of working to transform institutions to better reflect the lived experiences of Indigenous, Black, and People of Color communities. Her book is at once enlightening, inspiring, and practical, interweaving her lived experiences with extensive research to show what decolonizing design means, how it heals, and how to practice it in our institutions today.
For leaders and practitioners in design institutions and communities, Tunstall’s work demonstrates how we can transform the way we imagine and remake the world, replacing pain and repression with equity, inclusion, and diversity—in short, she shows us how to realize the infinite possibilities that decolonized design represents.
From the excesses of world expositions to myths of better living through technology, modernist design, in its European-based guises, has excluded and oppressed the very people whose lands and lives it reshaped. Decolonizing Design first asks how modernist design has encompassed and advanced the harmful project of colonization—then shows how design might address these harms by recentering its theory and practice in global Indigenous cultures and histories.
A leading figure in the movement to decolonize design, Dori Tunstall uses hard-hitting real-life examples and case studies drawn from over fifteen years of working to transform institutions to better reflect the lived experiences of Indigenous, Black, and People of Color communities. Her book is at once enlightening, inspiring, and practical, interweaving her lived experiences with extensive research to show what decolonizing design means, how it heals, and how to practice it in our institutions today.
For leaders and practitioners in design institutions and communities, Tunstall’s work demonstrates how we can transform the way we imagine and remake the world, replacing pain and repression with equity, inclusion, and diversity—in short, she shows us how to realize the infinite possibilities that decolonized design represents.
136 pages, Hardcover
Published February 14, 2023
24 people are currently reading
1874 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 26, 2023
Simply incredible. The title says “design” but it feels applicable to anyone working in the arts (and beyond). The writing is very approachable and felt honest, passionate, and full of meaning. Dori doesn’t hesitate to detail her shortcomings and failures as examples, while also celebrating successes and positive outcomes of her work. I also found it deeply helpful & interesting how Dori poses actionable questions after each chapter. These are at times specific, making them more meaningful (e.g. “if you are white consider..”, “if you are located outside of North America think of..” etc). Feels very inclusive while being realistic & honest at the same time! Will be rereading this book many times, so doubt.
January 5, 2025
This was a great piece of writing on how to lay out the ground for decolonial work to repair the systemic and institutional harms done by settler colonialism. Some of these strategies are not magic bullet because sysetmic exclusion are so pervasive that it requires to be intentional to dismantle those exclusions in everyday affairs.
February 29, 2024
The DEI world is uncomfortable. It’s made for that. Therefore, it feels unsettling to talk about it. I believe I understand its existence and importance. But I keep wrestling with its limits. The simulation the author makes about reparations is curious, and she considers the property of the land of indigenous peoples in North America. I wonder if the concepts of war and conquering should be included in this type of analysis. Should these concepts change? Is it possible to change a concept so violent as war? Does a physical conquer process accept a rational argument?
The concept of reconquer could be revised too. Can you reconquer with words which were taken by blood? Can you reconquer with non-violent actions (DEI hiring processes) what was conquered through violent actions?
I did not know the super token concept. But on the same line of concept revision, couldn’t it be said that a DEI hiring process is a “token action”? Something that is not effective but transmits good intention, and that should be enough?
It’s interesting to think about these gray areas.
The concept of reconquer could be revised too. Can you reconquer with words which were taken by blood? Can you reconquer with non-violent actions (DEI hiring processes) what was conquered through violent actions?
I did not know the super token concept. But on the same line of concept revision, couldn’t it be said that a DEI hiring process is a “token action”? Something that is not effective but transmits good intention, and that should be enough?
It’s interesting to think about these gray areas.
December 22, 2022
Decolonizing Design was a thought-provoking look at design theory and the importance of decolonization and recentering global Indigenous cultures and histories. Tunstall is an expert and innovator in her field, and I really enjoyed hearing her thoughts, specifically regarding academic institutions.
I did go into this book expecting a different type of "design" to be centered, so do go into this knowing that it is more in terms of design theory/technology/higher education/culture.
Thanks to NetGalley and MIT Press for the advanced copy of this book.
I did go into this book expecting a different type of "design" to be centered, so do go into this knowing that it is more in terms of design theory/technology/higher education/culture.
Thanks to NetGalley and MIT Press for the advanced copy of this book.
August 24, 2023
Racism disguised as 'progressiveness'.
Literal decolonization refers to the withdrawal of colonial powers from a country it had seized control of and exploited. Decolonization can also refer to the undoing of broader effects of that colonialism, such as systems of government, law, culture, religion, and language and recovering prior systems. This is not what is meant in the Social Justice application of the term, though it is where the roots of the term come from.
In the Social Justice sense, which has adopted postmodern (mostly French) concepts of power and knowledge, decolonization is understood more broadly still. As indicated above, it seeks to read everything through a framework of colonialism and uncover how it has shaped all sorts of power dynamics in society, particularly in the realms of discourse—ways of speaking about things. Thus, it is common to hear that everything from university curricula to hairstyles needs to be “decolonized.” Further, because this approach to decolonialism is postmodern, science and reason as ways of obtaining knowledge are considered the property of white, Western men. It is therefore imperialistic (or colonizing) to expect people from other cultures to use them. A need to value “other ways of knowing” is therefore central to the decolonial methodology.
Decolonization is therefore best understood as a deconstructive and reconstructive project within Social Justice to remove “white” and “Western” influence or centrality from essentially any and everything. Decolonizing university curricula often entails reducing the quantity of material studied that came from Western, white (and male) authors and researchers and replacing it with material that came from non-white and non-Western sources (see also, citational justice and research justice). Decolonizing hairstyles would refer to problematizing interest in, appreciation for, or appropriation of them by white people and challenging or disrupting “white” cultural expectations about them, which may only exist in tendentious accounts from critical race Theory or in the form of microaggressions (see also, cultural racism).
It is worth noting that decoloniality—a disposition toward decolonizing, in this sense—is explicitly a project within educational spaces under the critical pedagogy of Theorists like Joe Kincheloe. That is, there has been a deliberate project to train our educators in colleges of education to take up a decolonizing mindset and to make their teaching into activism in that direction.
A key point on the issue of what “decolonization” means in design includes that colonization doesn’t mean what we usually think it means. Instead, it means “embedding Western ideology” into whatever is being “colonized.” The effect of this is to “devalue other ways of knowing.” They also say that this is a “process” with no “finite end.”
Together, what this means is that “colonization” refers to expecting people to think and act in ways that Critical Social Justice identifies with white, Western, Eurocentric, and patriarchal culture, and this needs to be torn down for alternatives. In this sense, “decolonization” means tearing apart those established systems (not necessarily for good reasons) and replacing them with other “ethnic” and “sensitive” ones. A value of “shattering the familiar,” they call it in the article.
Another key point is that decolonizing design includes giving design work to people in minoritized groups. “Design,” (like everything) they tell us, is “intrinsically political.” The goal is therefore colonizing the field of graphic design with transformative politics and doing so in the name of decolonization.
Literal decolonization refers to the withdrawal of colonial powers from a country it had seized control of and exploited. Decolonization can also refer to the undoing of broader effects of that colonialism, such as systems of government, law, culture, religion, and language and recovering prior systems. This is not what is meant in the Social Justice application of the term, though it is where the roots of the term come from.
In the Social Justice sense, which has adopted postmodern (mostly French) concepts of power and knowledge, decolonization is understood more broadly still. As indicated above, it seeks to read everything through a framework of colonialism and uncover how it has shaped all sorts of power dynamics in society, particularly in the realms of discourse—ways of speaking about things. Thus, it is common to hear that everything from university curricula to hairstyles needs to be “decolonized.” Further, because this approach to decolonialism is postmodern, science and reason as ways of obtaining knowledge are considered the property of white, Western men. It is therefore imperialistic (or colonizing) to expect people from other cultures to use them. A need to value “other ways of knowing” is therefore central to the decolonial methodology.
Decolonization is therefore best understood as a deconstructive and reconstructive project within Social Justice to remove “white” and “Western” influence or centrality from essentially any and everything. Decolonizing university curricula often entails reducing the quantity of material studied that came from Western, white (and male) authors and researchers and replacing it with material that came from non-white and non-Western sources (see also, citational justice and research justice). Decolonizing hairstyles would refer to problematizing interest in, appreciation for, or appropriation of them by white people and challenging or disrupting “white” cultural expectations about them, which may only exist in tendentious accounts from critical race Theory or in the form of microaggressions (see also, cultural racism).
It is worth noting that decoloniality—a disposition toward decolonizing, in this sense—is explicitly a project within educational spaces under the critical pedagogy of Theorists like Joe Kincheloe. That is, there has been a deliberate project to train our educators in colleges of education to take up a decolonizing mindset and to make their teaching into activism in that direction.
A key point on the issue of what “decolonization” means in design includes that colonization doesn’t mean what we usually think it means. Instead, it means “embedding Western ideology” into whatever is being “colonized.” The effect of this is to “devalue other ways of knowing.” They also say that this is a “process” with no “finite end.”
Together, what this means is that “colonization” refers to expecting people to think and act in ways that Critical Social Justice identifies with white, Western, Eurocentric, and patriarchal culture, and this needs to be torn down for alternatives. In this sense, “decolonization” means tearing apart those established systems (not necessarily for good reasons) and replacing them with other “ethnic” and “sensitive” ones. A value of “shattering the familiar,” they call it in the article.
Another key point is that decolonizing design includes giving design work to people in minoritized groups. “Design,” (like everything) they tell us, is “intrinsically political.” The goal is therefore colonizing the field of graphic design with transformative politics and doing so in the name of decolonization.
June 19, 2023
I was super onboard with the author's thesis, but the book itself wasn't my cup of tea!
What I liked:
- Chapter 4 (Decolonizing Design Means Making Amends through More than Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) was awesome! I'd never heard of cluster hires before and it's a cool, very logical and powerful idea. Was really cool to learn about how the author got these to happen at her university.
Top quote: "The process of making the Black cluster hire happen was my pre-empting and countering every reason they could possibly say no. The university's upper administration saw this process as doing their due diligence in addressing the risks of such an initiative. I saw it as testing my resilience to do the work necessary to counter their “No”s. Some of the barriers felt hurtfully obstructive. There was a moment when it was brought up that the Board of Governors might not approve three hires, when the three hires had already been approved in the previous Board meeting. I did the work addressing all of the concerns, because the moment I did not have a counter response, they would use my “failure” as a justification to not make it happen."
- The examples of how to write a more inclusive job description to slightly devalue white supremacist-academia values.
- Honest reviews of how she herself made mistakes and how she corrected them.
What I disliked:
- I couldn't follow the Bauhaus conversation/chapter at all (not using the author's explanation and not even after Googling for a while and rereading), maybe because of my lack of formal artistic training or maybe just because it was hard to follow.
- I didn't like how little we got into every topic due to the structure of the book (e.g., history of colonization, history of Bauhaus, DEI)... I wish these topics were more interwoven OR the author would've just stuck within her area of expertise. If you're not a historian, don't give this giant history a whole chapter. As a result, I felt like most chapters were chock full of quotes from many many people and not even much original synthesis. Honestly, I think I would've loved this book if it came in more of a memoir style and was a walkthrough of the Dr. Tunstall's fascinating life + career!
- I don't think Dr. Tunstall has a great conversational grasp of gender/trans identities, because her phrases ("cis-male gendered," "white, European, male CIS, hetero, middle-class, abled body and mind," "my gender means I am capable of great things, live with a little fear of men, experience monthly menstrual cramps") indicate awkwardness + confusion around the difference between sex and gender. It's not a big issue, but a minor one that bugged me throughout, because I think it is important in a book like this! Especially worth discussing correctly in context of indigenous gender theory/2 spirit identities, etc.
What I liked:
- Chapter 4 (Decolonizing Design Means Making Amends through More than Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) was awesome! I'd never heard of cluster hires before and it's a cool, very logical and powerful idea. Was really cool to learn about how the author got these to happen at her university.
Top quote: "The process of making the Black cluster hire happen was my pre-empting and countering every reason they could possibly say no. The university's upper administration saw this process as doing their due diligence in addressing the risks of such an initiative. I saw it as testing my resilience to do the work necessary to counter their “No”s. Some of the barriers felt hurtfully obstructive. There was a moment when it was brought up that the Board of Governors might not approve three hires, when the three hires had already been approved in the previous Board meeting. I did the work addressing all of the concerns, because the moment I did not have a counter response, they would use my “failure” as a justification to not make it happen."
- The examples of how to write a more inclusive job description to slightly devalue white supremacist-academia values.
- Honest reviews of how she herself made mistakes and how she corrected them.
What I disliked:
- I couldn't follow the Bauhaus conversation/chapter at all (not using the author's explanation and not even after Googling for a while and rereading), maybe because of my lack of formal artistic training or maybe just because it was hard to follow.
- I didn't like how little we got into every topic due to the structure of the book (e.g., history of colonization, history of Bauhaus, DEI)... I wish these topics were more interwoven OR the author would've just stuck within her area of expertise. If you're not a historian, don't give this giant history a whole chapter. As a result, I felt like most chapters were chock full of quotes from many many people and not even much original synthesis. Honestly, I think I would've loved this book if it came in more of a memoir style and was a walkthrough of the Dr. Tunstall's fascinating life + career!
- I don't think Dr. Tunstall has a great conversational grasp of gender/trans identities, because her phrases ("cis-male gendered," "white, European, male CIS, hetero, middle-class, abled body and mind," "my gender means I am capable of great things, live with a little fear of men, experience monthly menstrual cramps") indicate awkwardness + confusion around the difference between sex and gender. It's not a big issue, but a minor one that bugged me throughout, because I think it is important in a book like this! Especially worth discussing correctly in context of indigenous gender theory/2 spirit identities, etc.
July 13, 2025
Dr. Tunstall gave me a signed copy of this book at Stanford earlier this year and prior to that interaction I’d never heard of her or her work. However, after diving into this guide, my outlook on design has forever changed. The chapter she wrote criticizing the Bauhaus movement was MUCH needed because even in my training as a designer they made this movement seem like the pinnacle of design, despite the long-standing contributions by IBPOC communities to the field. Before colonizers even knew how to build ships we were pushing the envelope!
Moreover, as a black designer, her emphasis on the indigenous-first doctrine resonated in a way that it never has before. Perhaps it’s due to her in-depth explanation of the idea (it doesn’t seem performative) but, more importantly, the book has equipped me with the practical tools to put this philosophy into action.
My main critique is that the second half of chapter four was somewhat dull because the knitty gritty details of convincing a white university to host a black hiring initiative isn’t the most riveting. However, this example was essentially her magnum opus with regards to applying decolonized design principles in the contemporary design world (plus she said that the framework for the guide was based on her personal experience in the beginning so I can’t be mad).
Altogether, this books had a great balance of theory, practicality and it was easy to understand. Dr. Dori Tunstall is a true academic.
Moreover, as a black designer, her emphasis on the indigenous-first doctrine resonated in a way that it never has before. Perhaps it’s due to her in-depth explanation of the idea (it doesn’t seem performative) but, more importantly, the book has equipped me with the practical tools to put this philosophy into action.
My main critique is that the second half of chapter four was somewhat dull because the knitty gritty details of convincing a white university to host a black hiring initiative isn’t the most riveting. However, this example was essentially her magnum opus with regards to applying decolonized design principles in the contemporary design world (plus she said that the framework for the guide was based on her personal experience in the beginning so I can’t be mad).
Altogether, this books had a great balance of theory, practicality and it was easy to understand. Dr. Dori Tunstall is a true academic.
August 20, 2023
I found this book insightful since I haven't spent much time prior thinking of the importance of decolonization or even thinking of industrialization as anything harmful. I am new to the design field, and it was helpful to learn about design as being something colonizing. I never thought about decolonizing design until I read this book. I used to consider myself an activist as a middle school science educator. Now that I have switched to design, this book ignited the fire again to continue these practices in my design work. I appreciate this brilliant piece of work to begin my journey of decolonizing design.
April 9, 2023
This book doesn't focus that much on design itself but instead explores the academic context of design. If you want to read a book about navigating faculty politics and pushing for justice-focused hiring practices, this should do. If you want to read a book about design, this isn't really it, in spite of the title.
August 14, 2023
I am not a designer so found parts of this book challenging to follow. Even with that it is an excellent book. Tunstall presents important and difficult questions to talk about. And more importantly, do something about. This isn't a treatise or how-to about decolonizing design. It briefly highlights the importance, gives examples and provides useful approaches.
April 10, 2024
I learned so much about indigenous-first theoretical frameworks and histories. I appreciated how Tunstall’s lived experiences guided readers through what it means to decolonize design and the actionable takeaways. This book is worth the read and essential for those in tech leadership positions/interested in pursuing such positions of power.
November 14, 2024
I thought this book was going to be about changing the act of design itself, but this book mostly discusses the hiring practices and reparations for IBPOC (the authors switch from the more familiar BIPOC.)
It did have some good takeaways about reparations and other stuff, though, just wasn't exactly what I thought I was going to be reading about.
It did have some good takeaways about reparations and other stuff, though, just wasn't exactly what I thought I was going to be reading about.
June 18, 2023
Really glad to have come across this book. A quick short read with a real call to make substantial change in the way we think about DEI and Decolonization. I hope it gets in to the hands of folks who really have the power to make substantive changes to PWIs
May 13, 2024
eyeopening and definitely a worth read. she answers so many nuances about diversifying and decolonizing the design industry and brings so many points that my personal implicit bias has not encountered yet. kind of advanced level to read but overall amazing.
September 25, 2024
Personally and professionally this book was revolutionary. Dori makes decolonisation a daily practice through sharing their anecdotes and wisdom, with real applications and handy takeaways. A reckoning I hope to revisit throughout my career.
February 19, 2023
I'm big mad about "modernist design" but I have no idea what the words "modernist design" actually mean.
Fine, you can have a trophy for participation.
🏆🚮
Fine, you can have a trophy for participation.
🏆🚮
March 23, 2023
A great introduction to Decolonising Design with personal learnings, concrete examples, helpful takeaways, and practical next steps.
December 8, 2023
Interesting to read about these topics from the perspective of design. Heady but important.
February 13, 2024
This was more academic than I’m used to, but quite informative. I came away with more to research and look into.
August 6, 2024
Must read to understand what core work needs to happen to actually decolonize design, and to get to work!
May 12, 2025
Great perspective, refreshing direct.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews