I sat down (virtually) for a chat with the design educators at Openbox to talk about what teaching has looked like over the last couple years and how it has changed as a result of the pandemic. I was going to use “post-pandemic” in the article title but I wanted…

Openbox principles for remote communication and engagement Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve learned a lot about transitioning inclusive research and community engagement to remote mediums. From one-on-one diary studies to fifty-person workshops, we’ve learned to find ways to make virtual meaningful, enriching, and well, real. …

“Are you in it for the long haul?” This is the question organizers ask of each other, themselves, and their allies. …

An interview with Tara Pham, Co-founder & CEO of Numina Cities are products of design. In the last century, the urban planning and design fields often prioritized the mobility of cars over people, and efficiency over community (think: Robert Moses and the post-war demolition of New York City neighborhoods in…

A reflection on leading a remote design studio for the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) in Costa Rica How can we continue to study our streets, talk to people, and test prototypes during a public health crisis? How can we identify opportunities to design for more inclusion, equity, and…

These past weeks, I’ve been debating with myself: do I say something or do I stay silent? Behind the scenes, I was speaking plenty, with fellow business owners, founders, CEOs. They wanted to know what statements of their own they should put out. They asked me to look over their…

By Tina Thomson, Chief Operating Officer of Openbox I was born into apartheid. My parents, both Greek, taught me and my siblings, to respect all people. In fact, I was 6 years old when I realized that our black nanny, Lena, was not our grandmother. She was employed by my…

An interview with Jon Bernstein, Los Angeles-based composer, producer, and musician on how our senses are adapting to the shifting soundscapes. Stretches of quiet pierced by blazing sirens. The two-minute outburst of pots and pans banging at dusk. Apartment hallways filled with the smell of baking bread and simmering stews…