Design Museum Everywhere

Bringing the transformative power of design to the forefront, Design Museum Everywhere goes virtual with its groundbreaking exhibition, We Design: People. Practice. Progress. Highlighting the lack of racial and gender diversity in the design field first and foremost, We Design demands change in the industry and encourages the next generation of designers to make an impact through design. We Design begins with the words of Marian Wright Edleman, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

The dynamic online exhibition tells stories about designers of different ages, genders, backgrounds, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and abilities — showcasing their unique personal lives and career paths through stories, oral histories, videos and photos, along with examples of their work throughout their careers including design process imagery and artifacts. Using quantitative and qualitative data visualizations and case studies, the exhibition further exposes the racial inequities in the design and innovation industries, with staggering statistics like: 86% of graphic designers are White. 69% of interior designers are women, yet interior design firm leadership is only 25% female. Only 2% of licensed architects in the US are Black, while Black women represent 0.2% of architects.

“People in positions of power and education have an obligation to make the world a better place, help amplify the voices and work of others, and be a vehicle for change, “ explains Sam Aquillano, Design Museum’s Executive Director. “Our mission in creating We Design was to illuminate a path in design for those from historically underinvested communities and to call upon the industry to reckon with the White, male dominated history of design. And at the same time, the program can help everyone understand both how far we have come and how far we still need to go.”

Read the full article here.