An intersectional take on design history and the design discourse, with feminist, decolonial, anti-racist, activist, non-Western and indigenous perspectives

Critically assessing the complicity of design in creating, perpetuating and reinforcing social, political and environmental problems, Design Struggles upends the discipline by problematizing Western notions of design, fostering situated, decolonial and queer-feminist modes of disciplinary self-critique.

In order to reimagine design as an unbound, ambiguous and unfinished practice, it gathers a diverse array of perspectives, ranging from social and cultural theory, design history and activism to sociology, anthropology and critical and political studies, looking at design through the intersections of gender, culture, ethnicity and class. The contributors generate new, anti-racist, postcapitalist, queer-feminist, environmentally conscious and community-based ideas on how to transform design that challenge the status quo and amplify underrepresented voices, both in the world of design and beyond.

Contributors include Claudia Mareis, Nina Paim, Danah Abdulla, Tanveer Ahmed, Zoy Anastassakis, Brave New Alps, Johannes Bruder, Cheryl Buckley, Sria Chatterjee, Alison J. Clarke, common-interest, Sasha Costanza-Chock, Decolonising Design, Bianca Elzenbaumer, Arturo Escobar, Kjetil Fallan, Griselda Flesler, Paola De Martin, Ramia Mazée, Tania Messell, Luiza Prado de O. Martins, Rebecca Ross, Nan O’Sullivan and Mia Charlene White.

Edited by Claudia Mareis and Nina Paim

Designed by Lotte Lara Schröder

Published by Valiz
Second edition, 2025

Softcover, 416 pages, b&w, 6.5 × 9 inches

ISBN: 978-9-49-324652-2