UPDATE: After hitting our goal of $2000 within the first 48 hours of the campaign, I've expanded the goal to $3000! This would mean 75 copies of the field guide could get made instead of just 50. Thank you for all of your support so far!

A Social Designer's Field Guide to Power Literacy is a workbook that was created to help designers and facilitators identify and challenge inequities that show up in their projects. Use it as a first step towards designing more socially just, decolonial and democratic outcomes. 

Hi! I'm Maya, a designer, researcher and facilitator who is passionate about social justice. 

As a part of my MSc in Design thesis I created this field guide to motivate designers, facilitators, social innovations, urban planners, action researchers, community organizers and public servants—really anyone working on projects that aim to solve social issues—to become aware of, sensitive to and understand the impact of power and privilege in their work. 

The field guide has been prototyped with a number of designers and facilitators and is getting great feedback! It has already sparked a number of 'aha' moments and new insights for practitioners to challenge systemic oppression in their work. As such, I believe it's an important and effective resource in the movement to create a more socially just design field, which is why I've made the digital version available for free at www.power-literacy.com . However I've received a number of requests from people who would like to order their own hard copy of the  field guide. 

I have sourced a reputable printer and have obtained a quote to print the field guide. Unfortunately, the cost of self-publishing and small batch printing is expensive! With this campaign, I am hoping to raise enough funds to cover the cost of printing 50 copies and crowdfunding transaction costs (2.9% + $0.30/contribution), or $2000 (about $39 or €25 per field guide). 

A contribution of $39 or €25 (+ shipping costs) will provide you with one pre-ordered field guide, which will be shipped to your address in late September or early October 2020 . You are welcome to order multiple copies, or even give a larger contribution for a power literacy workshop tailored to your needs (check out the rewards for more details!).

For those who don’t need a hard copy  but want to support this important work, a donation is much appreciated!  Your generous contributions will be used to cover the cost of printing for those that do not have the means to purchase their own copy, or to offset some of my expenses for this campaign (eg. graphic design, marketing, research, etc.). 

If you would like a copy of the field guide, but do not have the means to contribute to this campaign, send me an email at goodwill.maya@gmail.com.

If you prefer not to use PayPal, send me an email to arrange for an alternative payment method (goodwill.maya@gmail.com). 

More information about the field guide below and at www.power-literacy.com . 

About the Field Guide

The aim of the field guide is to help designers, researchers and facilitators develop power literacy. This includes building up your awareness of, sensitivity to and understanding of the impact of power and systemic oppression in participatory processes. The field guide will help you gain a holistic understanding of power, while examining the role you play in reproducing inequity – however unintentional – and what you can do to change this.

The field guide is designed as an entry point to the hard work of challenging the interlocking systems of oppression (e.g. colonialism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, etc.) that many of us have internalized and continue to reproduce in our design practices. It aims to support designers, facilitators, researchers and other practitioners working in the social and public sector to become more aware of power dynamics in our work, while motivating us to challenge existing inequities by giving up some of our own power. The field guide pushes us to move beyond our ‘good intentions’, and instead focus on the impacts of the design process, especially for those who are most marginalized. In doing so, the hope is that we can harness our own power to create participatory processes that are truly decolonial, democratic and equitable.