Often finding herself the only person of colour in a room at industry events and having been the only black person in the school of design she studied in, Alex felt something needed to be done to tackle the lack of diversity within the design industry.

United in Design (UiD), a charity, was founded in 2020 and offers internships, training programs, and partnerships with design firms to ensure a more inclusive future for the industry.
Alex was introduced to co-founder Sophie Ashby, founder of Studio Ashby, following ‘Blackout Tuesday’ in 2020 and the posting of black squares on social media accounts by millions of people in solidarity to protest racism and police brutality following George Floyd’s death. Both saw that many in their industry were included in those putting out little black squares and felt that these people should also be then held accountable –“if you care and you’re displaying that you care about this issue then what is it you’re actually doing about it?”

Since its founding, UiD has worked with leading design companies, educators, and professionals to drive systemic change and provide meaningful career opportunities.

Alex explains that it’s not just beneficial for the apprentices, but that studios benefit greatly from having more diverse young designers working with them. “The businesses are being exposed to different types of talent, new talent. They’re not your identikit, conveyor belt of design student or graduate, these are people that are coming with different technical skills, different life backgrounds and they are really able to enhance the workplace.”

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