Removing barriers for black designers

Last week our London studio had the pleasure of welcoming Useful School Founder Ritesh Gupta (virtually) and Roshannah Bagley from Where Are The Black Designers?
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They gave a brilliant talk about removing entry barriers for black designers, opening up opportunities and creating an environment in which they feel included and empowered to activate their careers.
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Afterwards, we asked our team to share some of their key takeaways from the session:

“It is important to rethink how we hire people. Employees can be hired for a position and wish to move into a different role as they develop. We should help and support them to do this rather than hire people that are already ready for a specific position”.
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“There is importance in focusing on up and coming individuals and students, but what gets most overlooked are those already in the workplace, so let's also focus on this group and understand their world and what needs changing”.
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“We need to show our creative process more so BIPOC can see the journey and envision how they fit into that rather than simply seeing the result”.
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“We need to gauge an understanding of the barriers to entry and how we can alter our own approach to become a more accessible and welcoming place”.
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“It was interesting to hear about how best to engage with the wider team internally on DEIB commitments”.
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Thank you to Ritesh and Roshannah for re-opening these conversations and for helping to educate and inspire us.

Visit the links below to find out more about the important work carried out by Useful School and Where Are The Black Designers? 

Useful School
Where Are The Black Designers?

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