On a recent episode of This Anthro Life, Adam Gamwell, and Matt Artz had the opportunity to interview Dr. Dori Tunstall on the topic of design anthropology. Over the course of the episode, we covered issues of ethics within design anthropology as well as a touching upon how to find jobs in design.

For those of you who wish to learn more about Dori or design anthropology, I would certainly encourage you to listen to the episode. Dori is a true leader in our industry, and always riveting. For others who are looking for a quick bit size overview, I have put together this FAQ and brief article.

FAQ About Dori Tunstall

Dori Tunstall is a design anthropologist, researcher, educator, and advocate for respectful design

No, her birth name is Elizabeth Tunstall, but she goes by Dori.

Dori is Dean, Faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada. In that role, she is the first black Dean of a Faculty of Design anywhere.

Dori earned a PhD and an MA in Anthropology from Stanford University and a BA in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College.

Decolonizing design aims to remove systems of oppression that are present in design practices and artifacts.

For a number of years Dori wrote a bi-weekly column in The Conversation which covers many of her ideas about design anthropology. More recently Dori can be found speaking on many podcasts and webinars.

Dori worked as the Managing Director for Design for Democracy which was an initiative by AIGA’s that aims to apply design tools and thinking to increase civic participation.

About Design Anthropology

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the discipline of design anthropology, you may want to check out my article titled What is Design Anthropology? which covers the history and theory. From Dori’s perspective, “The goal of design anthropology is to create conditions of compassion among human beings and conditions of harmony as it relates to the natural world and all of the things that are within it”. She elaborates on design anthropology in discussing her 5 iterations.

Dr. Dori Tunstall’s 5 Iterations of Design Anthropology

  1. Yin (internal/self-reflective) and Yang (activism/change/external) of Design Anthropology – where the Yin represents anthropology, the Yang represents design, and design anthropology represents the “balance and harmony” between them.
  2. Q.A.M.E. – (Questions Assumptions, Methods and Evidence)
  3. Values/Design/Experience as a methodology of design anthropology
  4. 7 principles of Design Anthropology
  5. Respectful Design: Dori Tunstall: Respectful Design – The Canadian Context

Learn More About Design Anthropology

To find out more about the benefits of bringing anthropology and design together to solve the toughest problems in business, check these links out on design anthropology, using contextual inquiry for design research, and getting user experience (UX) adopted by leadership in a corporate environment.