Responsible Innovation & Tech Guide
Thank you so much for joining my talk on how we can build better products and experiences through responsible and ethical practices. Huge thanks to the conference organizers and volunteers for creating such a magical experience happen!
There are so many incredible people and organizations doing work around designing for justice, ethical research, inclusive design and equitable design. If you’d like to learn more about the topics I covered today, here are some resources to get you started (not an exhaustive list). If you have resource (article, book, org, podcast, etc) you think I should check out, do share, I'd love to learn along with you.
This list has talks, books and articles. If you're buying books, please consider buying from a local Black owned bookstore, here's a list for the US and UK .
If you want to bring me to your organization for one of my talks, workshops or for a panel, hit me up here.
Redesigning systems
This section explores how we can use design to dismantle oppressive structures, challenge inequities, amplify marginalized voices, and reimagine societal systems for a better future.
Books:
Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need by Sasha Costanza-Chock
Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor by Virginia Eubanks
Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It by Mike Monteiro
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
A Civic Technologist's Practice Guide by Cyd Harrell
Design for Safety by Eva PenzeyMoog
Design For Real Life by Eric Meyer & Sara Wachter-Boettcher
Articles & Videos:
"The Role of Ethics in Design" by Nate Schloesser
"Confronting the power designers yield" by Sarah Fathallah
"Why Equity-Centered Design Requires More Than Empathy" by Creative Reaction Lab
Empathy reifies Disability Stigma by Liz Jackson (talk)
"Justice by Design" by Antionette Carroll (talk)
Tools & Frameworks:
Liberatory Design Toolkit – For designing with equity at the forefront.
Creative Reaction Lab and Justice by Design by Antoinette Carroll (TED talk)
Design Justice Network: A hub for resources and case studies in systemic change
Ethical OS Toolkit: A framework for addressing potential societal harm.
Equity-Centered Community Design Field Guide – Practical methods for designing equitable systems.
Understanding the Impact of the Technology We Create
This section delves into the societal, ethical, and environmental consequences of our technological creations, encouraging critical reflection on what imprint they're leaving on society and the environment.
Books:
Future Ethics by Cennydd Bowles
Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech by Sara Wachter-Boettcher
Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life by Adam Greenfield
A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules, and How to Bend Them Back by Bruce Schneier
Articles & Videos:
"Why Sasha Luccioni wants to create Energy Star ratings for AI” (FastCo)
"The Uneven Distribution of AI’s Environmental Impacts" (HBR)
"Predictive policing is still racist—whatever data it uses" (MIT Tech Review)
Automating Inequality by Virginia Eubanks
"Machine intelligence makes human morals more important" by Zeynep Tufekci (TED Talk)
Toolkits & Resources:
Data Ethics Canvas: A guide to designing with ethical data use.
Consequence Scanning Framework: Evaluate the impacts of design choices.
Sustainable Web Manifesto – Guidelines for eco-friendly web development.
Sustainable Interaction Design – Tools for measuring the environmental impact of digital experiences.
Inclusive Design
This section highlights tools, resources, and practices to make design truly inclusive, focusing on accessibility, neurodiversity, and equity-driven solutions.
Books:
Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes,
Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change by Victor Papanek
Design for Cognitive Bias by David Dylan Thomas
Inclusive Design for a Digital World: Designing with Accessibility in Mind by Regine Gilbert
Accessibility for Everyone by Laura Kalbag
About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper
Cross Cultural Design by Senongo Akpem
Articles:
"Empathy Reifies Disability Stigma" by Liz Jackson
"Accessibility is Not a Checklist" by Léonie Watson
Qualitative Research at Code For America
Kat Holmes’ resourceful site and her 99U talk
Describing Personas by Indi Young
Toolkits & Resources:
Inclusive Persona Templates: Center marginalized perspectives
Case Studies: Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller
Organizations: Design Justice Network
Accessibility Heuristics – Guidelines to evaluate how inclusive digital interfaces are.
Rethinking Design Practices for Responsible Innovation
Challenges traditional practices and explores ethical ways to engage and co-create with users.
Books:
Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways by Sarah Stein Greenberg
Building Successful Online Communities: Evidence-Based Social Design by Robert E. Kraut
Ethics in Design and Communication by Laura Scherling and Andrew DeRosa
Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby
Decolonizing Methodologies by Linda Tuhiwai Smith
Articles/Videos:
"Gamification Done Right: Encouraging Behavior Without Manipulation"
"Design Thinking Is the Opposite of Inclusive Design" by Natasha Iskander
"Speculative Design as a Tool for Ethical Futures" by Anab Jain
Lessening the Research Burden on Vulnerable Communities by Sarah Fathallah
The most popular design thinking strategy is BS by Tricia Wang
Resources:
Speculative Design Frameworks – Practical templates for designing alternative futures.
<Design Ethically> Framework by Katherine Zhou
More
Podcasts:
Design Matters by Debbie Millman
Clever – Stories about the intersection of creativity and design.
The Sunday Show by the Tech Policy Press
IRL by Mozilla
Pivot by Kara Swisher & Scott Galloway
Organizations:
AI Now Institute – Research and advocacy on the social implications of AI.
AIGA Design for Good – Tools and inspiration for socially responsible design.
SustainableUX – A community focused on environmentally conscious design.