Colour Outside The Lines: Designing Across Identities

What does it really mean to design with communities instead of for them? How do we nudge the space for design when different fields come together in interdisciplinary design research? How can designers navigate worlds that are epistemologically and ontologically so different from the design practice that they are familiar with?

In this work-in-progress participatory exhibition of their thesis projects, students from the BA (Hons) Design for Social Futures programme ask bold questions that reshape our understanding of what design can do for society.

Three unique design research tracks are composed at the intersections of diverse fields where the socially-engaged and environmentally-conscious design students dive deep into fieldwork and community development. Collaborating with institutions and community stakeholders, they show how design research and questions can be grounded in the real needs of our society, revealing insights that are real, raw and revolutionary showing us how we can all colour outside the lines.

Image: BA (Hons) Design for Social Futures programme (2025)