Esther (b. 1986 in Detroit, MI) is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Design Studies at UW-Madison's School of Human Ecology (SoHE). Her primary affiliation is with the Design Studies Dept, and her secondary affiliation is with the Civil Society and Community Studies Department at SoHE. Esther is also a member of the Wisconsin RISE Initiative and the Global Human Ecology Network. In this capacity, she focuses on conducting research, advising graduate students, and teaching in the Design, Innovation, and Society (DIS) program.

Esther’s research examines how design shapes public imagination in urban renewal initiatives and projects. This work locates itself in socially-marginalized economies & regions largely animated by low-income communities. This work is driven by a set of high-level questions: 1) how are conglomerates re/mapping place?, 2) how do power imbalances re/organize ways of practicing agency and gaining affordances for low-income communities?, 3) what is design’s role in shaping the public imagination of the possibilities and limitations of their role in shaping place? and 4) how should we interpret the politics of contemporary tools to build equitable and sustainable futures? This work sits at the intersection of design studies, urban humanities, critical geography, and science and technology studies.

Through an interdisciplinary and humanities-based approach, Esther develops three types of tools through her work: 1) conceptual, 2) analytical, and 3) practice-based. This informs industry standards, policies, practice, and pedagogy. Currently, Esther is working on two research projects. (1) Examining the impact of the Right to Repair Act, a design and tech policy, on local infrastructure and economy and (2) Outlining the effect of urban development projects driven by design and technology companies in east Wisconsin.

This work builds upon Esther’s work as an independent Design Researcher for ten years, where she led projects that applied co-design practices to urban planning, policy-making, and digital service delivery processes. This scope of work encompassed cross-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary, and trans-disciplinary initiatives at the city, state, congressional, and federal levels.

Esther's previous academic appointments include NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Pratt Institute, School of Visual Art, and Art Center College of Design.

Esther earned her Ph.D. in Design from Carnegie Mellon University, MA in social design from Maryland Institute College of Art, BFA with concentrations in photography and art theory from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and transferred to SAIC from Pasadena City College and Art Center College of Design's Night Program. 

Feel free to reach out to chat about collaboration, speaking opportunities, and generally these works: eykang2@wisc.edu

*Note: The links on the page are intended to provide field-specific or industry-specific definitions. Organizations that I collaborated with are listed in the text above.