Tokyo University of the Arts

Decolonising and Indigenising Design

Dr Desiree Ibinarriaga is an Indigenous Mexican mestiza woman who works as a creative practitioner, researcher, and educator at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She leads the Indigenous Higher Degree by Research program in the Arts, Design and Architecture department. Dr Ibinarriaga's work focuses on bringing Indigenous ways of thinking and doing into university teaching and research. She believes in the importance of Indigenous peoples making own decisions and using knowledge that comes from the connection to the land. Her teaching style combines old cultural practices with care for the environment and innovative approach in design. This helps keep Indigenous knowledge alive and reconnects people with ancestors' memories. Dr Ibinarriaga has written a book called "Decolonising and Indigenising Design" (2025) and helped create two new ways of doing decolonial practices and research that respect Indigenous cultures: Critical Co-design (2020) and The Seven Grandfathers' Teachings as a Design Methodology (2022). In this video, she talks about The Seven Grandfathers' Teachings process. She uses this to show viewers how to look at design and creative work from a decolonial and Indigenous point of view, giving real-life examples of designs that are culturally significant. Ibinarriaga, Desiree Hernandez. Decolonising and Indigenising Design: Theory, Methodologies, Storytelling, and Creative Practice. Taylor & Francis, 2025. Howard Munroe & Desiree Hernandez Ibinarriaga (2022) Indigenising design: The Seven Grandfathers’ Teachings as a design methodology, The Design Journal, DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2022.2058680 Hernandez Ibinarriaga, Desiree & Martin, Brian (2021) Critical Co-Design and Agency of the Real in Design and Culture, 13:3, 253-276.DOI: 10.1080/17547075.2021.1966731