Abstract
For nearly every product that makes it into the hands of a consumer, there is a designer who created it and someone who toiled over its construction. The physical and social conditions in which a product is made can depend on various factors like a designer’s degree of autonomy, income, and their location. For many women product designers, in particular, these challenges have been historically amplified by their fight against workplace discrimination and the “right to live free from violence.”1 This research, which is drawn from Scherling’s recent book Product Design, Technology, and Social Change: A Short Cultural History (Intellect Books, 2024)2 examines a selection of the remarkable accomplishments of female product designers. These designers have been largely ignored in the history of product design and included people like Indigenous women, minority veterans, supply chain workers, “cottage industry” workers, and activist designers. References 1 UN Women, “Ending violence against women,” last accessed April 15, 2024, https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women. 1 Laura Scherling, Product Design, Technology, and Social Change: A Short Cultural History, (Bristol: United Kingdom, Intellect, 2024).
Presenters
Laura ScherlingLecturer, Media, Technology, and Communications, Columbia University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Artist, Artisan, Designer, Product Design, Women
