Bio

Samira ShiriDevich is an Iranian designer and entrepreneur whose work in graphic, motion, UI/UX, Interaction, and participatory design is focused on exploring and addressing the complexities of freedom, equity, and agency through design. To do this, she uses a human-centered, horizontal approach, emphasizing participatory and community-engaged design with people as they bring their own expertise and agency. She asks “how might we use design to identify their depth of knowledge?” as she works with people in context to draw from their experiences, identify knowledges, and tell their own stories to communicate with audiences. Working with people in their communities has confirmed her belief that there is a world of hidden, and often undervalued, resources and a wealth of information in every person's story. Since early 2020, ShiriDevich has been actively involved in ongoing design research with Project YouthBuild (PYB), a Gainesville branch of a national AmeriCorps organization devoted to high school degree completion and career training for youth forced out of public schools. Using a co-design process which is central to her practice, she collaborated with PYB stakeholders to design a social media campaign to increase their visibility and recognize their accomplishments. Through a co-design process, she facilitated sustainable communication and collaboration between local East Gainesville community members and PYB students, whose campus is in East Gainesville. She also collaborated with the UF Shimberg Center of Housing Studies on a white paper, data visualizations, and information design as part of their National Science Foundation Grant proposal to study the impact of sea-level rise in vulnerable Florida communities. Her work helped demonstrate the importance of visual communication to better communicate the value of their proposed research and make their proposal more formidable.