Video: AfroFuturism and UX Research

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AfroFuturism and UX Research

Gold

Monday, March 27, 2023 • Advancing Research 2023

Florence Okoye

Senior UX Designer, Natural History Museum

Summary

What might a communal, speculative, Black-centred action research method look like? Reclaiming the discarded, the half-forgotten, the oppressed and marginalised is a key technique in AfroFuturism, whether for creating provocative fiction, exploring alternative technologies or developing radical means to thrive within white supremacist systems. How might this perspective be incorporated into user research? What impact could it have on our artefacts and ways of working? This talk will take precedents from projects that range from introducing masquerade performativity to structure research activities, to early stage research into how service design might intersect with narrative to co-design local policy rooted in anti-racist practice. Join us as we explore both how AfroFuturism can be used as design research methodology and what it can offer user research on a broader scale.

Key Insights

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Afrofuturism as a research framework inherently challenges white supremacist capitalist design epistemologies by centering Black experiences.
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Design methods inspired by African cultural practices, like masquerades and call and response storytelling, effectively foster communal research participation.
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Centering race as a core analytical lens in research makes processes more inclusive and counters assumptions of objectivity rooted in coloniality.
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Afrofuturism problematizes traditional notions of innovation by blending social technologies with material technologies.
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Participatory workshops with young Black people using Afrofuturist art and narratives can generate anti-racist policy co-creations.
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Specificity of cultural lineage within the Black diaspora fosters openness and deeper cross-cultural dialogue in research.
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Design-based implementation research aligns with African epistemologies and facilitates accessible, sensitive inquiry into structural racism.
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Afrofuturist methodologies extend beyond Black audiences by adapting to pluralistic experiences without appropriation.
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Acknowledging the commons and public civic spaces offers an alternative to market-driven design, rooted in collective resources and governance.
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Racialization is a dynamic sociopolitical technology that must be centered securely in research to fully understand marginalization.

Notable Quotes

"I needed a design practice that could help account for certain assumptions, like racism as foundational to our way of life."

"The masquerade is a figure that reveals ancestral social, political, and environmental powers to the community, much like design reveals insights."

"Afrofuturism breaks down and distorts the haunting borders of coloniality—discipline, nationality, and objectivity."

"By centering a global Black analysis, Afrofuturism not only problematizes notions of progress but also provides means to address systemic oppression."

"Storytelling became the root of our workshops because it helped participants relate and respect each other's experiences."

"Call and response discourse ensured maximum communal contact and fostered intergroup understanding during research."

"Afrofuturism as a framework combats white supremacy at each stage of the research design process."

"Making racialized experiences central rather than add-ons allows research methods to better live up to contemporary realities."

"The role of the trickster in African storytelling reveals systemic contradictions and guides the design of interventions."

"By owning your positionality and specificity, you open yourself to diasporic experiences and deeper conversations."

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