Bourdieu’s theories on “cultural capital” explain how individuals gain social assets through upbringing. Many students attending State Universities have had little to no formal exposure to the Modernist design canon and little to no training in art or design in their high school education. However, they do have incredible life-experiences and personal histories that they bring to the classroom. Designer Anoushka Khandwala explains “the authority of the canon has undermined the work produced by non-Western cultures.” By leveraging the diverse cultural capital of students, Modernist design... more

Design as Common Good / Framing Design through Pluralism and Social Values, Swiss Design Network Symposium 2021, Conference Proceedings. Edited by Massimo Botta and Sabine Junginger. pp. 748-762. ISBN 978-88-7595-108-5. ~ With Cheryl Giraudy

A placemaking study in Toronto, Canada is highlighting the need for Ethical Design curricula that will serve the larger context of Design for Social Good. In reviewing diverse theories for socially informed design practice, it is apparent that Ethical Design, specifically socially-engaged design, as a core value is largely absent in pedagogy,... more

The Creative Practice as Protest Workshop was a youth workshop held in January 2020 and is part of the larger research project Design ManifesT.O. 2020. The workshop aimed to gather youth, community mentors, and placemaking leaders into a space where they could work and learn together. We partnered with design... more

Abstract
First-year design studio courses should be process driven in order to promote multiple idea development, risk taking, and exploration. However, in order to demonstrate the importance of process, feedback, and iteration this process needs to be documented and marked throughout the duration of an assignment. Therefore, I have designed my assignments to include a progress book format in which students are asked to record everything they have undergone weekly—including observational, and theoretical research, trials and errors, feedback, exploration, etc. The... more