A look into design as a craft through the lens of neuroqueering.Illustration by Kristina Gushcheva-KeippiläI remember reading Robert Chapman’s Empire of Normality at a strange threshold: in my mid-twenties, a few years into design as a profession, still in a pandemic haze, and on the precipice of what felt like great change. I was discovering a world where fellow neurodivergent thinkers and authors pushed boundaries, revealing a space of possibility beyond the dominant narratives.That rather prolonged period of personal discovery later coincided with a rapid shift in my role toward design leadership. I found myself seeking guidance not solely as a craft expert, but as a not-so-experienced mentor and coach. Fresh into this new reality, I felt a lot of insecurity in my own aptitude to be the design leader I wanted to be, and still need to be. That insecurity manifested itself both as an...