Systems of Harm

To round off the series, I’m speaking to Sheryl Cababa, Chief Design Officer at Substantial, lecturer, and author of her, Closing the Loop: Systems thinking for designers. In the episode, Sheryl and I talk about how our design work fits into the wider societal, economic and political systems around us and she shares tools and frameworks for making the invisible, visible. Episode Links Sheryl’s blog on Medium (https://medium.com/@SherylCababa) Sheryl’s LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherylcababa/) Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers, by Sheryl Cababa (https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/systems-thinking-for-designers/) (Listeners of Systems of Harm can get 15% off the purchase price with the code: cababa-soh)

Imran Afzal is a Principal Designer working on the design systems team at Co-op digital. He’s written and spoken prolifically about his work on design systems, and his own experiences of racism and discrimination. In today’s episode, we explore the ways in which design systems can perpetuate or mitigate racism in our digital products and practices. Episode Links https://www.imranafzal.com/ (https://www.imranafzal.com/) Imran's Twitter (https://twitter.com/avimran) Imran’s blog on racism (https://www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2022/when-my-son-asked-if-we-belong-here) UX London (https://ti.to/clearleft/ux-london-2023)

How can design systems help us to create more accessible digital products and services, and what are the limits to that? In this episode I talk to design systems manager, accessibility advocate, and good friend of mine, Fred Warburton. Fred shares his experience with sight loss, and how that motivated him to learn about digital accessibility, and create meaningful change. Episode Links Fred’s Twitter (https://twitter.com/FredWabz)

Dyscalculia is a learning difference characterised by a persistent difficulty in understanding numbers. In this episode, Laura and I discuss her experiences with dyscalculia, and how design systems can help to create more inclusive digital products for people like her. Episode Links Laura’s blog (https://uxwriting.co.uk) Laura’s Twitter (https://twitter.com/LauraParkerUX) Accessible numbers project (https://accessiblenumbers.com/) Dyscalculia poster (https://accessibility-manual.dwp.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/accessibility-posters) Dyscalculia network (https://www.dyscalculianetwork.com) Plain Numbers report (https://plainnumbers.org.uk/why-we-exist)

How do design systems contribute to trans-exclusion in our digital, social and political systems? What can we do to create more trans-exclusive experiences? In this episode, I talk to Luke Murphy, a design advocate and a good friend of mine who identifies as non-binary, to explore this issue. Episode links https://www.lurkmoophy.com/ (https://www.lurkmoophy.com/) Luke’s Twitter (https://twitter.com/lurkmoophy) Zeroheight blog (https://zeroheight.com/blog/)