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Decolonizing Design

A Cultural Justice Guidebook

Author Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall
Illustrated by Ene Agi
Paperback
$19.95 US
| $25.95 CAN
The MIT Press
On sale Dec 30, 2025 | 136 Pages | 9780262551373
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A guidebook to the institutional transformation of design theory and practice by restoring the long-excluded cultures of Indigenous, Black, and People of Color communities.

From the excesses of world expositions to myths of better living through technology, modernist design, in its European-based guises, has excluded and oppressed the very people whose lands and lives it reshaped. Decolonizing Design first asks how modernist design has encompassed and advanced the harmful project of colonization—then shows how design might address these harms by recentering its theory and practice in global Indigenous cultures and histories.

For leaders and practitioners in design institutions and communities, Dori Tunstall’s work demonstrates how we can transform the way we imagine and remake the world, replacing pain and repression with equity, inclusion, and diversity—in short, she shows us how to realize the infinite possibilities that decolonized design represents.
Included in Fast Company's "7 design books to look forward to in 2023"

“Tunstall gives step-by-step instructions for reducing bigotry’s impact on the built environment”
—The New York Times Book Review

"A crusader for equity in teaching design [who] finds a formula that works across borders and sectors, with critical importance for society as a whole.”
—The Times Higher Education

"The design field has historically been dominated by a narrow Eurocentric set of perspectives. This has resulted in a string of harmful stereotypes, biases, and the culture-erasing homogenization of design. Here to dismantle these power structures is design anthropologist Dori Tunstall, who is also dean of design at OCAD University. In her book, Decolonizing Design, Tunstall explores how modernist design has perpetuated colonial thinking, and how design can help abolish it."
—Fast Company

“In Decolonizing Design Tunstall offers an on-the-ground look at the ways modernist design has colonized and oppressed Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Latinx communities, and offers practical and forward-looking ways of rethinking design. Tunstall is clear-eyed in her account of the difficulty of the work and the wounds it might open in the effort to heal and connect.”
—The Boston Globe
Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall is an award-winning design anthropologist, educator, author, and strategic consultant through her firm, Dori Tunstall, Inc. At OCAD University, she was the first Black person in the world to hold the position of dean of a faculty of design. Her writing has been featured in Fast Company, Print, Aperture, and other publications. She has keynoted at the MoMA, Nike, Cooper Hewitt National Smithsonian Design Museum, and over 150 events on six continents.
Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall View titles by Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall
Ene Agi View titles by Ene Agi
Introduction
Decolonizing Design: What Might It Mean? 9
Chapter 1
Decolonizing Design Means Putting Indigenous First 15
Chapter 2
Decolonizing Design Means Dismantling the Tech Bias in the European Modernist Project 39
Chapter 3
Decolonizing Design Means Dismantling the Racist Bias in the European Modernist Project 55
Chapter 4
Decolonizing Design Means Making Amends through More than Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 71
Chapter 5 
Decolonizing Design Means Reprioritizing Existing Resources to Decolonize 97
List of All the Key Takeaways 104
Acknowledgements 110
Notes 112
Index 122

About

A guidebook to the institutional transformation of design theory and practice by restoring the long-excluded cultures of Indigenous, Black, and People of Color communities.

From the excesses of world expositions to myths of better living through technology, modernist design, in its European-based guises, has excluded and oppressed the very people whose lands and lives it reshaped. Decolonizing Design first asks how modernist design has encompassed and advanced the harmful project of colonization—then shows how design might address these harms by recentering its theory and practice in global Indigenous cultures and histories.

For leaders and practitioners in design institutions and communities, Dori Tunstall’s work demonstrates how we can transform the way we imagine and remake the world, replacing pain and repression with equity, inclusion, and diversity—in short, she shows us how to realize the infinite possibilities that decolonized design represents.

Reviews

Included in Fast Company's "7 design books to look forward to in 2023"

“Tunstall gives step-by-step instructions for reducing bigotry’s impact on the built environment”
—The New York Times Book Review

"A crusader for equity in teaching design [who] finds a formula that works across borders and sectors, with critical importance for society as a whole.”
—The Times Higher Education

"The design field has historically been dominated by a narrow Eurocentric set of perspectives. This has resulted in a string of harmful stereotypes, biases, and the culture-erasing homogenization of design. Here to dismantle these power structures is design anthropologist Dori Tunstall, who is also dean of design at OCAD University. In her book, Decolonizing Design, Tunstall explores how modernist design has perpetuated colonial thinking, and how design can help abolish it."
—Fast Company

“In Decolonizing Design Tunstall offers an on-the-ground look at the ways modernist design has colonized and oppressed Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Latinx communities, and offers practical and forward-looking ways of rethinking design. Tunstall is clear-eyed in her account of the difficulty of the work and the wounds it might open in the effort to heal and connect.”
—The Boston Globe

Author

Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall is an award-winning design anthropologist, educator, author, and strategic consultant through her firm, Dori Tunstall, Inc. At OCAD University, she was the first Black person in the world to hold the position of dean of a faculty of design. Her writing has been featured in Fast Company, Print, Aperture, and other publications. She has keynoted at the MoMA, Nike, Cooper Hewitt National Smithsonian Design Museum, and over 150 events on six continents.
Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall View titles by Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall
Ene Agi View titles by Ene Agi

Table of Contents

Introduction
Decolonizing Design: What Might It Mean? 9
Chapter 1
Decolonizing Design Means Putting Indigenous First 15
Chapter 2
Decolonizing Design Means Dismantling the Tech Bias in the European Modernist Project 39
Chapter 3
Decolonizing Design Means Dismantling the Racist Bias in the European Modernist Project 55
Chapter 4
Decolonizing Design Means Making Amends through More than Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 71
Chapter 5 
Decolonizing Design Means Reprioritizing Existing Resources to Decolonize 97
List of All the Key Takeaways 104
Acknowledgements 110
Notes 112
Index 122

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