ABSTRACT
The idea that designers can affect society is not new, but social change is increasingly becoming a central purpose of our practice. This chapter discusses how to be an effective cultural intermediary by using our skills strategically to have a positive impact on society.
Designers are within what Pierre Bourdieu classified as cultural intermediaries, due to our central role in cultural reproduction. We constantly influence people’s views, beliefs, and behaviors by shaping the aesthetic, functional, and perceived value of products, services, and systems. These activities are intrinsic to our practice, and most designers are not aware of the power we hold to influence and shape society. Critical tools can play an important role in design research for social change, helping to see the invisible forces that dominate human interaction, including the connection between our worldviews, design decisions, and their potential impact and consequences in society. A case study illustrates how critical tools are used to generate new insights about the sociocultural contexts in which design research takes place, revealing the values, ideologies, assumptions, power relations that are entangled within design activity. By developing a more nuanced understanding of the power of meanings and how we can use them strategically, we can amplify our impact toward cultural transformation and flourishing.
