Design Changemakers Digest

Personal updates...why design changemakers has been on pause After a long late summer/early fall pause (for those who actually read these emails 🙃), the digest is finally back! I was away for a few reasons: heads down working on expanded design and production of The Grove (news on that coming soon!) recurring health issues (fellow chronic illness folks, you get me!) a transition in my business (aka Sandra By Design) For those who don't know me, I've spent the past 7 years supporting...

Join us for a special event hosted in The Grove If we want to design for 'positive' change, we must undo the ways that systems of harm and domination live within us. We will explore that in community in a special community dialogue next Wednesday, August 13th. Unlearning our oppressive conditioning For values-driven designers, technologists, and changemakers of all backgrounds Wednesday, August 13th9am PT/12pm ET/6 pm CEST Register A communal space for honest conversation This is a space for...

The watering down of DEI and social impact work Are you working in an organization where DEI, social impact, or equity-focused efforts are quietly getting defunded, dismantled, or watered down? You may be seeing... Terms like are “bias,” “racism,” "oppression" —and even "women"— stripped from training content, employee programs, and research. Teams and roles dedicated to this work are being dissolved. Budgets are being slashed. For many of us, the message is clear: this work is seen as too...

This Digest's Highlights: Fear of creating harm to people and planet can hold us back when designing for change. How can we sense our way through challenges? The Grove helps you embody critical reflection and a deep understanding of systems—and tap into collective wisdom—to overcome this fear. Join us for our next Design Changemakers Gathering on May 21st The very real fear of “getting it wrong” Many of us changemakers feel fear of creating harm when we’re designing something that matters....

The horrors of Ghiblification Over the past two weeks, AI-generated images in the style of Studio Ghibli have gone viral. I'm sure you've seen them. You have the more "innocuous" images such as illustrated selfies, family portraits, and memes. But you also have horrific depictions of Nazi rallies, the September 11th tragedy in New York, and even immigrants being forcibly arrested (posted by the White House account on X). Some have found the outputs dreamlike and nostalgic. Others consider...

The Design Changemaking Portal is live! Dear changemakers, After many years of development, I'm excited to introduce you to design changemaking—a design ethos and practice that helps us dismantle oppression and design pathways to liberatory futures. I've brought it to life through an online visual journey at the Design Changemaking Portal. It invites you to see and approach design in ways that are attuned to collective liberation and to justice (and not capitalism). And it's built upon the...

Creativity as resistance TL;DR: We're gathering next Tuesday, March 18th on how can we use our collective creativity to resist oppression. Register here. Throughout history, creativity has been a tool not just for expression, but for survival, defiance, and transformation. When power seeks to erase, creative resistance insists: we are here.When oppression narrows possibilities, creative acts stretch the limits of what we can imagine.When systems of control demand silence, creativity refuses...

Dear changemaker, Most of us have been in workshops, meetings, or trainings that feel…off. Maybe they start abruptly with no grounding. Maybe the same voices dominate, while others shrink back. Maybe the space feels transactional—and it's uncomfortable. What if we designed our gatherings with intention, weaving in moments that break from the usual and move us toward something more relational and playful? Here are three small but powerful practices to bring into your virtual or in-person...

Dear changemaker, What does it mean to design for liberation in a world where oppression is intentionally built into systems? That question has guided the creation of Design Changemaking— foundations for dismantling oppression and co-designing liberatory futures. After years of evolution, I’m excited to finally share this work. What I thought would be a week-long rollout has transformed into a month-long unfolding. Like a field of wildflowers, it's best explored slowly, one bloom at a time....