PhD research proposal

1. Decolonising Design in indigenous artisans and designers’
collaborative projects for ethical consumption:
Cross-culture studying New Zealand and Mexico.
Diana Albarran Gonzalez
School of Art and Design, AUT

2. Significance of the study
In 1979, ICSID and UNIDO held the ‘Design for Development’ agenda
where it was defined “the dialectic between preserving design as an
embodiment of national identity and authenticity, and the explicit drive
to innovate new designs fit for export to a Western market” (Clarke,
2015, p.7).

3. Development policies scholar Arturo Escobar argues strongly for a
more relational, decolonising approach to design that disconnects
development from a Western growth model (2010).
Decoloniality can be described as:
“the dismantling of relationships of power and conceptions of
knowledge that foment the reproduction of racial, gender, and geo-
political hierarchies that came into being or found new and more
powerful forms of expression in the modern/colonial world”
(Maldonado-Torres, 2006, p 117).

4. Collaborative design processes are a key part
In 2005, UNESCO published Designers meet Artisans, a code of practice
that aimed for an equitable partnership between parties involved in
designing for development.
There are methods and tools for design collaboration, under headings
of Participatory Design or Co-design (DiSalvo, Clement & Pipek, 2012;
Manzini & Coad, 2015).

5. The reality
• Colonisation of indigenous peoples’ knowledge
• Reduction of the artisan’s role to a producer of the designer’s
creations
• Lack of reference to the cultural context of the objects
• Many initiatives end up using artisans and their skills for
manufacturing purposes only (Margolin, 2007).

6. From a decolonised perspective
‘Buen Vivir’ is used to convey the quality of life and well-being that only
comes from being part of a community (Vanhulst & Beling, 2014;
Radcliffe, 2012).
This Andean principle of ‘good living’ is perhaps similar to Tē Atānoho,
the Māori concept of ‘good life’ (Huambachano, 2015), and will be used
alongside Kaupapa Māori to provide guiding principles for my research.

7. Methodology
Cross-cultural research compares
phenomena in two or more countries,
“drawing from and making comparisons
across different cultures” (Hardy,
Patterson, Smith & Taiapa, 2015 p.46).
The research design will be based on the
principles laid out by Linda Tuhiwai Smith
(1999) in Decolonising Methodologies,
aiming to have an ethical approach to
indigenous communities.

8. Components of the project will be guided by Participatory Action
Research methodology in which “the emphasis is on a ‘bottom-up’
approach with a focus on locally defined priorities and local
perspectives” (Cornwall & Jewkes, 1995, p.1).
A possible outcome is the co-creation of design methods using
indigenous knowledge from and with the communities involved.

9. Stages
1. Collect examples of handcrafted product enterprises from Aotearoa/New
Zealand and Mexico to analyse how the enterprises represent their objects and
process.
2. Select objects of study, using the UNESCO definition of artisanal products.
3. Carry out case/field studies of the design process in each country using
qualitative methods.
4. Map participatory and co-design methods to identify which are applied in the
cases studied.
5. Conduct further research in the indigenous communities about the co-design
experience to learn about their approaches and views on creation processes
and community well-being.
6. Analytical comparison of the results from both countries will be developed
with the view to make a positive difference in the communities studied.

10. Research benefits
• Determine if there are specific co-design methods that could be
considered decolonised which could improve livelihoods, and benefit
projects between indigenous artisans and designers.
• If so, to prevent colonised design projects by sharing design methods
and tools from decolonised perspectives in Aotearoa New Zealand
and Mexico.
• This research intends to support Māori and Mexican indigenous
communities to contribute to their nation by using their own
creativity and knowledges to define and apply collaborative design
processes from a decolonised perspective.

11. Key Questions
1. What are the material characteristics of a Decolonised Design
process in collaborative projects between indigenous artisans and
designers?
2. How is indigenous knowledge materialized in Decolonised Design
projects?
3. What specific co-design methods are appropriate to materialize
Decolonised Design objects?
4. To what extent does the heritage of the designer (indigenous/ non-
indigenous) matter in a Decolonised Design process?

12. En 2016 son 116,9 millones
Population: 4,595 millions in 2015
In the 2013 census, there were
approximately 600,000 people in New
Zealand identifying as Māori, making
up roughly 15% of the national
population
Te Reo Māori is spoken by 3% of the
total population.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-about-maori-english.aspx

13. 6 son 116,9 millones
Population: 116,9 millions in 2016
In 2015, 6.5% speaks an indigenous
language (aprox. 7,598 millions)
24.4 millions recognise themselves as
indigenous people regardless
language, conforming 21.5%
http://www.inegi.org.mx/saladeprensa/aproposito/2016/indigenas2016_0.pdf

14. http://thetruesize.com

15. Contextualising
Aotearoa
• 700 years ago discovered and
settled by Polynesians, who
developed a distinct Māori
culture.
• First European explorer in 1642.
• Treaty of Waitangi in 1840
• British colony from 1841 to
1907.
Mexico
• First record of habitants is from
13,000 years ago.
• First civilization since 1500 BCE.
• Occupied by a large number of
indigenous groups with very different
social and economic systems. Mayan,
Totonac, Huastec, Otomi, Mixtecs,
Zapotecs, Tlaxcalans, Tarascans, and
Aztecs.
• Known as Prehispanic era before
Spanish arrival.
• Spanish colony from 1519 to 1821.

16. How indigenous people is counted in the
census?
Aotearoa
• Through ethnicity, refers to
cultural affiliation.
• Through descent, refers to
ancestry. The Māori descent
counts form the basis of iwi
statistics.
Mexico
• People who lives in an
indigenous home where one or
more members or ancestors
spoke an indigenous language.
• People who speak an indigenous
language.
http://www.gob.mx/cdi/documentos/indicadores-de-la-poblacion-indigenahttp://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-
reports/quickstats-about-maori-english.aspx

17. Mexican population
• In Mexico, indigenous population mostly mixed with Spaniards, this is know
as “mestizaje”. Therefore, most people recognise themselves as “mestizos”.
• There are 62 indigenous languages. The most spoken are náhuatl (2.5%)
and maya yucateco (1,8%).
• Traditionally, Mexico has been defined as a nation formed by mestizos,
criollos and indigenous people. In 2015, afromexicans were recognised as
part of the population.
• Mesoamerican cultures are an important part of the national identity.

18. @diegohuertaphoto

19. @diegohuertaphoto

21. Key Questions
1. What are the material characteristics of a Decolonised Design
process in collaborative projects between indigenous artisans and
designers?
2. How is indigenous knowledge materialized in Decolonised Design
projects?
3. What specific co-design methods are appropriate to materialize
Decolonised Design objects?
4. To what extent does the heritage of the designer (indigenous/ non-
indigenous) matter in a Decolonised Design process?

22. Feedback welcome!
Thanks

23. References
• Clarke, Alison J. (2015). "Design for Development, ICSID and UNIDO: The Anthropological Turn in 1970s Design." Journal of Design
History: epv029. doi: 10.1093/jdh/epv029.
• Cornwall, A., & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social science & medicine, 41(12), 1667-1676.
• Designers Meet Artisans: A Practical Guide. Craft Revival Trust, Artesanías de Colombia S.A., UNESCO, 2005
• DiSalvo, C., Clement, A., & Pipek, V. (2012). Participatory design for, with, and by communities. International Handbook of
Participatory Design. Simonsen, Jesper and Toni Robertson (Eds). Oxford: Routledge.(2012), 182-209.
• Escobar, A. (2010). Latin America at a crossroads: alternative modernizations, post-liberalism, or post-development?. Cultural
studies,24(1), 1-65.
• Hardy, Derrylea, Murray Patterson, Huhana Smith, and Caine Taiapa. (2015). "Cross-cultural environmental research processes,
principles, and methods: coastal examples from Aotearoa/New Zealand " In Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in
Environmental Studies, edited by Matthias Ruth. Cheltenham, UK. Northhampton, MA. USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Huambachano, Mariaelena A. 2015. "Food Security and Indigenous Peoples Knowledge." Food Studies, 5 (3),33 - 47.
• Maldonado-Torres, N. (2006). Césaire’s gift and the decolonial turn. Radical Philosophy Review, 9(2), 111-138.
• Manzini, E., & Coad, R. (2015). Design, when everybody designs: An introduction to design for social innovation. MIT Press.
• Margolin, V. (2007). Design for development: towards a history. Design Studies, 28(2), 111-115.
• Radcliffe, S. A. (2012). Development for a postneoliberal era? Sumak kawsay, living well and the limits to decolonisation in Ecuador.
Geoforum,43(2), 240-249.
• Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonising methodologies. Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed Books Ltd.
• Vanhulst, J., & Beling, A. E. (2014). Buen vivir: Emergent discourse within or beyond sustainable development?. Ecological
Economics, 101, 54-63.