Esther KangAssistant Professor of Design Studiesshe/her/hers

I am an intersectional and interdisciplinary researcher, educator, and creative.

My scholarship focuses on the impacts and implications of design practices to inform ways of framing, practicing, and teaching equitable and sustainable design differently. I situate my research in sociotechnical and socioecological contexts and bring my work in conversation with discourses on locally-based design, community-based design, civic design, and design justice. This work is propelled by the goal of understanding the frictions between ideas that drive designs and the cultures that shape their conditions.

This research builds upon 12+ years as a practitioner, including leading an independent consultancy that brought community-driven and locally-based approaches to policymaking, urban planning, and civic technology through (critical) design. Former collaborators include Vera Institute of Justice, New Jersey Office of Innovation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Work Cities, amongst others.

Previously, I was a lecturer and thesis advisor at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Administration, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Pratt Institute, School of Visual Arts, and Carnegie Mellon University.

For more information, see Kang’s CV.