PROCHNER Isabel
Syracuse University
iprochne@syr.edu

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This presentation explores my work to start a Feminist Design Think Tank that will address wicked socio-economic problems through feminist technology. During this Coffee Time Session, I explore the thinking behind the initiative; the contributions of feminist design work; and my vision for the think tank. I propose that the Feminist Design Think Tank could help create a counter narrative in design and highlight new possibilities, breaking from some patterns of inequity, exclusion and exploitation and supporting different values through design practice and outputs.

The Feminist Design Think Tank will offer a contemporary space and community for feminist design work, positioned between design practice and design research. This presentation is inspired by Pivot Conference goals to build and support a network of collaborators and allies. I hope the Coffee Time Session will be an opportunity to discuss the idea with other design researchers, challenge and build-on the research plan, and maybe find new collaborators.

feminist design; socio-economic sustainability; alternative economies; wellbeing

Isabel Prochner is a Canadian/Quebecois design researcher from Montreal. I bring a Western perspective to my work and draw on feminist and queer thinking. I also have a passion for making and craft. My research and practice focus on socially and community-oriented industrial design. This includes an emphasis on critical and feminist work, as well as regional design practice and professional communities. I hold a PhD in environmental design and work as an assistant professor of industrial and interaction design at Syracuse University in Syracuse, USA. I am also the online editor for the Design Research Society (DRS).