Every system we redesign carries an invisible history — decisions made by people who aren't in the room, assumptions baked in decades ago, populations never considered from the start. Before we map the current state, before we talk to users, before we introduce AI — we need to excavate how we got here.
Design Archaeology treats every system as a historical artifact: shaped by choices, absences, and power dynamics that most design processes inherit without examining. The Inventory — the first move of equity-forward design — asks: whose decisions built this? Who was missing? What got locked in?
This matters more urgently as organizations rush to redesign with AI. AI doesn't neutralize inequity — it amplifies what already exists. If we don't excavate historical bias before we automate systems, we don't transform organizations. We just make inequity faster.
This talk introduces Design Archaeology as a practical, equity-forward methodology.
Adil Mansouri is VP of Design & Innovation at Talsom, where he leads organizational transformation through human-centered design and systems thinking. Over 12+ years across Canada, Malaysia, and beyond, he has worked on equity and social innovation projects with organizations including UNICEF, Ville de Montréal, and the Institut du nouveau monde. He is currently developing Design Archaeology — a methodology for excavating historical bias before redesigning systems.
Intersection 26 is the leading global event on Enterprise Design.
