May 01, 2019

Privilege by Design

Milena Radzikowska RGD, Mount Royal University

About this video

Description

Privilege, as we are beginning to understand it today, is defined as a set of unearned benefits given to people who fit into a specific group. Societies grant automatic benefits to certain individuals or groups based on specific aspects of their identity. Milena asserts that privilege is an important concern for designers and design educators, and shares several cases aimed at (1) challenging design privilege-defined perception of user-centred design; (2) understanding design impact on the physical, social and emotional well-being of marginalized peoples; and (3) interrogates our own reactions, biases and blind spots so we can better understand ourselves and work towards a more critical and reflective design practice.

Milena Radzikowska RGD

Mount Royal University

Dr. Milena Radzikowska is an award-winning researcher and designer specializing in speculative feminist design and complex data visualization. As a Full Professor and Chair in the School of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University, her work bridges digital tools and humanistic inquiry. She is a co-recipient of the 2022 Antonio Zampolli Prize (ADHO) and the 2019 RGD Design Educator of the Year. Dr. Radzikowska’s research explores the intersection of design, social advocacy, and material data. Since 2005, she has served as PI or Co-Investigator on over 25 interdisciplinary projects, including major multi-million dollar SSHRC initiatives such as Implementing New Knowledge Environments (INKE). Her recent work focuses on “Callidocene” design—navigating critical times through clever, resilient prototyping—as well as feminist activism, climate disaster storytelling, and reconciliation. She is the author or editor of seven books, most recently Clever Design in Critical Times (2024) and Digital Performative Assemblies (2023), and has developed over 90 interactive interfaces.