Constructing a critical anthropology of contemporary design practices

This paper articulates a critical approach to researching design as a contemporary phenomenon that was developed through my doctoral research. The approach - critical anthropology of design - is a combination of anthropology of design, crit-ical strategies borrowed from other fields, and a ‘Foucauldian’ theoretical toolkit, which together allow us to see design as a complex disciplinary appa-ratus. I advocate for such an approach – a switching of the disciplinary lens when studying design, and a more sceptical engagement between social disciplines and design – as essential for both robust critique and original insight. Such an ap-proach is productive and necessary specifically where one’s intent is investigat-ing how power is operant in and through design. The argument for criticality is followed by a discussion of the practicalities both methodological and ethical of implementing such an approach.