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Nancy Richardson Design Center

Nancy Richardson Design Center Inclusion “A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.”

— Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Google

Embracing Inclusion and Diversity Our Commitment

As part of a land-grant university, we prioritize ensuring our programs uphold the values of inclusivity and intentionality, and foster a safe and welcoming space for learners of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and identities. We firmly believe that our potential as a learning community is only enhanced by involvement from professors, instructors, staff, students, and community partners with diverse life experiences, and we aim to create a safe space where people are able to learn and collaborate as their truest selves. Key values of Design Thinking include empathy and collaboration, and we utilize these values as a means of welcoming diversity and enhancing equity, inclusion, and justice for our learners and partners. We collaborate as a diverse community in order to address important societal problems facing our world today, through the lens of Design Thinking.

 

Faculty and Staff Submit a DEIJ Activity

Open to Everyone Our Learning Community

Diversity of thought is the foundation for design thinking. Having people of different backgrounds is the only way to make design thinking successful.

Classes

Students and instructors discuss a project at a table in the Wood Lab

Labs

  • We have accessible spaces for creators, students, and community members.
  • We helped create the stencils for the RamWalk mural, designed by CSU student Jocelyn Lapham, highlighting the value of community.
  • Students in AM475 utilized our labs to design and create prototype garments that are inclusive of traditionally marginalized consumer groups.
  • The RDC Fabrication Lab spaces were utilized to create braille signs to be used across campus.
  • Our lab staff proudly consists of a gender-diverse group of students and professionals.
  • Visit the Make page to learn more about the RDC Fabrication Labs.
A student using a grinder in the Metal Lab

Community

A group of students viewing a demonstration of the CNC router in the Wood Lab

Applications for Social Change Design Justice

We bring together artists, humanitarians, scientists, entrepreneurs, engineers, design thinkers, and creatives from every discipline to tackle important, authentic problems and devise innovative solutions for socially and ecologically sustainable impacts and creative solution proposals to improve human experiences. Application of human centered design and design thinking processes, with a focus on social change and civic engagement, provide solutions to real-world problems facing some of society’s most vulnerable populations. Design justice emphasizes that the greatest impacts are made when design is led by those with marginalized identities.

IDEA210: Students prototyped acrylic nails that can be used by non-binary and male identifying users and those with prosthetic hands.

IDEA450: Students design and build an ADA accessible tiny home.

IDEA310F: Students interview someone with a medical or developmental need and create an adaptive piece for them. For example, pockets for people’s walkers, tailoring to make clothing more accessible, and clothing that isn’t available to buy off the rack.

  • 24.7% first-generation students
  • 15.5% non-traditional students (age 23+)
  • 38.8% racially minoritized students

Diversity & Inclusion CSU Campus Resources

Office of Inclusive Excellence Assistive Technology Resource Center Accessibility by Design First-Generation Students Pride Resource Center Student Disability Center CSU Land Acknowledgment Student Diversity Offices
Design students collaborating on the third floor of the RDC