Meet the founders!
Vanessa Morrison (right) is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Open Design. As an urban planner with a background in public health, Vanessa’s expertise spans across planning, cultural preservation, trauma-informed practice, and social justice advocacy.
Deborah Richards (left) is co-founder and Chief Design Officer of Open Design. As a licensed architect and urban designer, Deborah focuses on developing design practices that center community collaboration and that are co-led by community members.
Together they launched Open Design Collective, Oklahoma’s first woman-led, non-profit design firm supporting the social and spatial needs of Black community spaces through the tools of planning, design, architecture, and cultural preservation.
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#architecture #architect #archdaily #urbanplanning #reparativejustice #communityengagement #culturalpreservation #neokc #okc #preservationok #womenindesign #womeninpreservation #okhistory #okc #oklahoma #builtenvironment #naturalenvironment
Big announcement 📣 We’re growing!
Open Design is seeking a full-time Community Stewardship Coordinator to support neighborhood revitalization efforts in Northeast Oklahoma City. This role will work alongside residents, small businesses, and public partners to help ensure growth reflects long-term community priorities.
If equitable development, cultural preservation, and community-centered planning gets you excited - this opportunity might be just for you.
Learn more at the link in our bio 🔗
The OK Black Town Homecoming Weekend kickoff is today and y’all SOLD US OUT 🎉. We’re about to have a time and are so excited to welcome our guests here! From NYC to Colorado, to right here at home, BIG love to everyone who was able to pull up!
This weekend is the result of a vision that we’ve been shaping alongside creatives and partners over time—working closely with Tullahassee, Taft, and Rentiesville descendant leaders through real relationships, real care, and real pride and intention that reflects their stories, legacies, and heritage.
Super grateful for each of these towns, for the generosity of @okhistory for making it possible through the Civil Rights Trail grant, and to every partner and Black-owned business that helped bring this weekend to life. This is what it looks like when we invest in each other. 🖤✊🏾
If you missed the bus this time you can still ride along with us right here on IG - where we’ll be sharing some of what’s going down!
#tullahassee #rentiesville #taft #blacktownhomecoming #historicblacktown
As we celebrate the Oklahoma Black Town Homecoming Tour being *officially* sold out 🥳 we’re reflecting in deep gratitude to the innovators and originators who came before us.
Our tour concept was deeply inspired by the generous contributions and leadership of Mr. and Mrs. Andre and Jessilyn Head, who years ago created a pathway for people to experience Oklahoma’s historic Black towns in a way that was personal, connected, and grounded in real stories.
Through their organization, the Coltrane Group, their platform brought tours through Oklahoma’s 13 existing Black towns for years, where people were able to step into these places with context and appreciation for the generations of Black leadership that shaped them.
We’re deeply grateful to the Heads for laying the foundation for projects like the Oklahoma Black Town Homecoming to be possible, to the @okhistory center for supporting their work in those early days and now our’s, and to the elders, historians, and storytellers who have carried this work forward over time. What a full circle moment.
As we continue preparing for the upcoming tour weekend, we’re moving with intention and care as we recognize that we’re reimagining a Black model that was designed with purpose 🤎📍. BIG thanks to everyone who RSVP’d and to all of our project partners who are making this experience possible.
In loving memory 🕊️
Mr. Andre Head, 8/25/48 - 11/26/20
Interview and photos: The phenomenal @carlahinton_@_theoklahoman
#okhistory #historicblacktowns #rentiesville #taft #tullahassee
Throwing it back to celebrate our incredible co-founder and Chief Design Officer, Deborah Richards, on receiving the American Institute of Architects @aiaoklahoma 2023 Community Service Award 🏘️
Recognized by peers for her leadership and deep commitment to community impact through design, this honor reflects the kind of design brilliance that not only shapes buildings, but impacts lives, neighborhoods, and futures.
So proud of Deborah and the way she leads in the design field to push towards equity, culture, and purpose.
That’s our designer in chief! 👏🏾🫡
#tbt #womenindesign #communitycentereddesign #architecture urbandesign
In Episode 4 of the South of 8th Series, our CEO sat down with Dr. Adam Alexander of the @stephensoncancercenter and @ou.health to explore the powerful connection between health, place, and community.
Together they unpack how the built environment shapes real health outcomes; from access to care and transportation to the everyday conditions that influence how people live, move, and thrive.
Drawing from the collective work in Eastside on the South of 8th (So8th) masterplan, this dialogue reflects how community-rooted strategies and partnerships can support healthier, more equitable development; aligning systems where public health insight meets spatial strategy to create environments that don’t just look better, but actually support people’s well-being.
Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel! 📺
#builtenvironment #design #publichealth #neokc #socialdeterminantsofhealth
In celebration of Women’s History Month, our CEO joined a panel discussion featuring women in design, organized by @okstatearch National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (@okstatenomas ) and @thealmightys.okstate alongside Juana Gomez (@dprconstruction ) and Melissa Lynn (@1_architecture ) and it was powerful.
The discussion walked the audience through transparent perspectives on how women navigate and lead in design fields that haven’t always been built with us in mind — from advocating for your ideas to realizing you may have to create your own path.
While more women are entering these professions, the work ahead is about who holds power, shapes decisions, and creates pathways for others to follow. It was hopeful to see so many young women in the room and our next generation of design leaders.
Shoutout to the student organizers (Josue, Kierra, and team) for such a thoughtful event and for creating spaces for these stories to be shared!
#urbanplanning #architecture #design #womenshistorymonth #womenindesign
👏🏾Let’s be clear: Black excellence originated in Oklahoma’s historic Black towns 👏🏾
In towns like Tullahassee, Taft, and Rentiesville, excellence was truly just a way of life. From education, businesses, agriculture, land ownership, wealth, and even athletics - every success and every movement was part of a bigger intention to ensure that Black folks could thrive in place for generations to come.
And these towns are still here. Still building. Still Black. 💯
#tullahassee #taft #rentiesville #okhistory #historicblacktowns
This is a line-up you don’t want to miss 👏🏾
💫 It’s giving homecoming.
💫 It’s giving culture.
💫 It’s giving “you had to be there.”
And listen…👀tickets are almost gone!
Only 8 days left to secure your spot for the Oklahoma Black Town Homecoming Weekend (4/24–4/26)!
We’re taking it back and forth with a curated journey through Tullahassee, Taft, and Rentiesville; three historic Black towns, full of story, legacy, and real community.
This is the kind of weekend where stories are shared, the food is flowing, the music hits, and the love feels familiar - even if it will be your first time there.
Registration closes April 1st so lock in your spot now, RSVP at link in bio!
#tullahassee #taft #rentiesville #okhistory #historicblacktowns ✨
📰 Gibbs College faculty 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 and 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬, the thought leaders behind Oklahoma's first and only Black-founded and women-led nonprofit design firm @open_designco , received top honors at the inaugural 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐊𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!
The competition took place in February in Brooklyn, New York City, with the firm's honor supported by its efforts to create design tools that support built environments where Black communities can thrive.
📖 Learn more: link.ou.edu/40zHKlN
Black folks don’t just tell stories… we live them—through our culture, laughter, spaces, and those conversational moments when we’re saying goodbye, but end up staying and talking for another 3 hours ☕😭
Tullahassee is all of that energy embodied. Founded in 1882 as a Creek Freedmen community, it’s the oldest surviving all-Black town in Oklahoma and the legacy is still very much alive today. The Oklahoma Black Town Homecoming weekend is your chance to experience its vibrancy through a curated experience that uniquely puts the town all the way on - by the community and for it, too.
Come celebrate the legacy. Come be part of what’s still unfolding. And don’t wait till you see the recap and then get quiet 👀. Very few seats left - RSVP at link in bio!
#blacktownhomecoming #tullahassee #okblacktowns #historicblacktowns #okhistory
Had fun with our friends at @okcinnovationdistrict , @riversportokc and @millwoodpublicschools on a panel discussion about our work and profession with the bright @ou.health student leadership class! We learned so much from our colleagues’ amazing presentations - which spanned across topics related to the Olympics to education, and more. Thank you for inviting Open Design to contribute to this series!
