Jan 05, 2026

Six Propositions for Design Disruption

Danah Abdulla

About this video

Description

Disruption can be defined as interrupting, breaking apart and pushing thought beyond our usual range. Disruption can spark movement and positive change, but it can also be used to hinder progress. This talk is inspired by Italo Calvino's Six Memos for the Next Millennium, which highlighted qualities he saw as vital for the future of literature. Join Danah as she outlines six propositions for how design can become truly disruptive and ensure design’s relevance today and into the future.

Danah Abdulla

Danah is interested in new narratives and practices in design that push the disciplinary boundaries and definitions of the subject. She is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Anti/Post/Decolonial Histories, Theories, Praxes at the Decolonising the Arts Institute at the University of the Arts London. Danah is the author of two books: Designerly Ways of Knowing: A Working Inventory of Things a Designer Should Know (Onomatopee, 2022), and Design Otherwise: Transforming Design Education in the Arab Region (Bloomsbury, 2025). She is a founding member of the Decolonising Design platform and founded Kalimat Magazine (2010-2016), an independent, non-profit publication about Arab thought and culture.