The Design Justice Network Philadelphia Node launched at Slought in partnership with the Social Justice Arts Integration Initiative on Friday, July 26, 2019.

As part of the launch, we had the pleasure of inviting Baltimore-based design strategist and 2018 Allied Media Conference Design Justice track presenter, Denise Shante Brown, to share how The Design Justice Network principles have influenced her work building Black Womxn's Health & Healing since 2017. For new Design Justice participants, Denise was able to share how three DJN principles looked in practice:

We use design to sustain, heal, and empower our communities, as well as to seek liberation from exploitative and oppressive systems.
We believe that everyone is an expert based on their own lived experience, and that we all have unique and brilliant contributions to bring to a design process.
We view change as emergent from an accountable, accessible, and collaborative process, rather than as a point at the end of a process.

The gathering of Philadelphia and Baltimore-based designers jump started ideas about cross city collaboration and continued dialog. As the Philadelphia node works to organize monthly gatherings, we are looking to hold space for developing community guidelines and sessions that unpack:

What the term “Design Justice” really mean?
Can we provide more broad and specific examples of real life Design Justice principles application?
What do the Principles mean in the context of Philadelphia?

Get in touch with the DJ Philly Node: djn.philadelphia@gmail.com