Decolonizing design is to remove the white or Eurocentric thinking in design. Decolonizing design happens with the understanding of design that establishes and perpetuates the invasion, impoverishment, and destruction of indigenous cultures.
Colonization is rooted in indigenous peoples’ experiences of oppression: the theft of resources, the appropriation of culture, and the embedding of Western views into society. Decolonization no longer just means the withdrawal from a former colony, but also the acknowledgment that Western society has been built upon the colonization of other nations that many parts of white/European culture was (and still is) stolen from indigenous cultures.
Decolonization is often used interchangeably with the words diversity and/or inclusion. It’s important to note that while the terms are related, they shouldn’t be confused with one another.
This video of a presentation by OCAD U (The Ontario College of Art and Design University) Dean of Design Dori Tunstall really breaks down the difference between diversity, inclusion, and decolonizing in design in a way that is easy to understand.
In short, the difference between diversity, inclusion, and decolonizing is: