Oppression has been systematically designed into the world around us throughout history. But we do the power to disrupt it, one step at a time.
We're on a mission to enable changemakers to harness their power to design for positive change.
It means using the power of design to disrupt oppressive systems and move toward justice and liberation for all.
In practice, it means breaking down barriers to access, reducing harm and uplifting the most marginalized with our designs.
For lasting impact, this means enabling change around us at multiple levels — not just in design practices but in mindsets, behaviors, culture, tools and systems.
We believe you have the power to make change, no matter your starting point, job title or level of design expertise.
We've designed a myriad of learning touchpoints and experiences in our Newsletter, Shop, Events and Library to enable you to design for positive change.
We recommend you start with our Design Changemaking Playbook, which will introduce you to our frameworks and walk you through your first steps.
Our courses, tools and frameworks are not shortcuts to social change. They are designed to be modular and fit within a larger journey of change that extends far beyond this platform.
We encourage you to see them as guideposts and aids in your journey toward equity, inclusion and justice.
Actions speak louder than words. That's why we have intentionally designed equity, inclusion and accessibility into this platform.
As this platform is self-funded and operated by a team of one, we commit to an ongoing journey of improvement in line with our resourcing.
We break down barriers to access through multiple price points and equitable discounts ranging from 25% to 100%. We regularly offer free insights, resources and learning in our Design Changemakers Digest and Library.
We provide ALT text, visual descriptions, closed captions, transcripts and audio-only versions of video content. We limit our use of jargon and complex language and are mindful of color contrast. We accomodate further accessibility requests to the best of our ability.
We use community agreements (with repercussions when not respected), content moderation and thoughtful facilitation practices to ensure you feel seen, heard, safe and respected in your learning experiences.
We draw visuals, examples, stories and data from a variety of contexts and geographies. While our content is currently in English, we hope to make translations available in the future. We aim to bring in more instructors and lived experienced experts, with a focus on centering marginalized voices, over time as our resourcing capabilities grow.
Design Changemakers is an offshoot of the Inclusive Design Jam, a community of practice on inclusive and equitable design on Slack.
Formerly known as the Inclusive Design Jam Academy, Design Changemakers was split off from the community and emerged into a separate platform to expand beyond the scope of inclusive design and transparently anchor itself in a learning mission.
The platform remains closely interconnected with the community, both overseen by the same founder.
Design Changemakers was founded by Sandra Camacho (She/Her), an independent inclusive & equitable design strategist, advisor and educator based in Paris, France. After 8 years at Google, she took on the alias Sandra By Design in 2018 to help organizations design for social impact.
She's spent the past 5+ years working with organizations around the world to evolve culture, practices and processes for more inclusive and equitable outcomes. She's our lead instructor and also the founder and lead at the Inclusive Design Jam community.