Understanding power and privilege for social designers

Using a simple activity to illustrate power dynamics

Power and privilege are words that we hear every day. We think we understand them until we are able to understand power and privilege through a different lens. We are not taught in schools about how these two concepts shape our society and how important it is to understand them if we want to be catalysts of social change. As designers we must understand our privilege first in order to reach more sustainable and informed solutions.

The course of Fundamentals of Design for Social Innovation at DSI helped me understand my power and my privilege with an activity that demonstrated how power dynamic and privilege works and the importance of analyzing these two concepts in order to help people achieve systemic solutions to social problems.

The activity consisted in giving cards from ace to king to the participants without they knowing which card they had. Every person had to hold their card on their forehead throughout the activity. The participants were asked to plan a party together while treating each other according to the label or number of the card they where given. It was obvious that all the persons with ‘less power’ according to their card or number where gathering around with those with ‘more power,’ and when they asked them something they would agree to do everything the person with a higher position asked them too.

People where compliant and submissive when treating with persons in powerful positions. You could see at the beginning people with power didn’t understand until everybody started gathering around them to listen and agree to everything they had to say. It was very interesting being an observer in this activity and see how power dynamics work from an outsider perspective. At the end, the facilitator asked people to line up according the card they thought they had and the results where surprising to see everybody lined up exactly according to their power.

This activity helped me understand the privileged position I have as a designer to catalyze social change. I believe every designer must learn about power and privilege dynamics because the people who have shaped the world until now have created an oppressed and unequal society. It is time to change our mindset and a greta start is by understanding our power and our privilege.