communication & knowledge essay

7/29/2019 Communication & Knowledge Essay

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How can socially and

politically engaged designbecome a matter o

public concern?


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MA Design Futures

Knowledge and Communication Essay

By Gaja Menari Osole

Writing as: young socially engaged designer

Reading on behal o: design practitioner

Printed 10th January 2013

Version 1


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Introduction

Socially Engaged Design

From Politics to Activism

A Brie Retrospective o Alternative Design PracticesTe Evolution o Critique

Why do we need Alternatives or a Brie History o Capitalism

System Shif

Diversity o Contemporary Design Disciplines

A Short Analysis o 4 Socially And Politically Engaged Design Pro-

jectso Conclude

Bibliography


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Te re-denition o design practice is taking place. Design activism,

critical design, design or debate, human-centered design, socially

responsive design and other newly dened design practices are all

questioning the current western (capitalistic) value systems and tryingto create a diverse eld o resh solutions, questions and better under-

standing o the world we live in. More and more designers are trying

to engage with the problem solving projects that improve our every

day lives and tackle the contemporary malunctions o capitalistically

driven ideology.

In this essay I am interested in the eects o socially engaged design

practice on the world it shapes. I believe that design practice is still

poorly integrated outside it's amiliar environment so I would like to

investigate how to provoke a more integrated debate among the pub-

lic and contemporary design practices which might improve the nal

outcomes and raise the credibility o design as an agent o change. FirstI would like to explore the events that inuenced the contemporary

design practices. What was going on in the political world and how got

the situation reected and maniested through design. How design in-

uence the everyday lie and vice versa. In that context I am also inter-

ested to investigate what happens with the projects aer their realisa-

tion. I would also like to present examples orm practice and research

their inputs and nal outcomes.


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Socially Engaged

Design


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Socially engaged design is a design thinking method that uses inclu-

sive design processes to improve the way society unctions in relation

to the specics o its place and time. In design terminology there is no

clear denition or the given expression (participatory design, servicedesign, transormative design, meta-design and social design ...). Simi-

lar subjects can be ound under various names as the young eld is

still sculpting and deiying its role. Te practice can be understood as a

sort o design activism that acknowledges civil capabilities, needs and

responsibilities that engage with social issues. Design acts as a acilita-

tor, mediator or agent o change and uses participatory or other demo-cratic methods in planning, implementing, researching or questioning

about contemporary social values in order to nd better solutions or

the uture o living (Jones and Lundebye 2012: 42-49).

Socially engaged design is a part o the alternative design movement

that has moved rom a orm giving commodity to a problem solvingactivity which as proessor o art and design history at the University o

Illinois Victor Margolin writes includes exploring the role o design in

sustaining, developing and integrating human beings into broader eco-

logical and cultural environments, shaping these environments when

desirable and possible and adapting to them when necessary. (Margo-

lin 2002: 80).

It would be enlightening to consider contemporary design only as a

social problem solving activity. Te necessity o the the the adjective

social in the term socially engaged design is however necessary to

stress its intention and contrast the main-stream design practice acting

as a servant o a popular consumerist culture and quick prot-seeking

system, opressing the basic needs o people. Although there are someopen discussions weather design is a social activity per se or as Swed-

ish design proessor Christina Zetterlund deends one could in act


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argue that it should be a part o designs sel understanding to be so-

cially engaged, because historically design has created product that in

various ways have been part o our daily lie. (2011: 48).

More than 40 years ago, Adolo Natalini, a member o alternative ital-

ian radical design studio called Superstudio wrote a passage that could

not t better the contemporary concerns o design practice today. He

observes i design is merely an inducement to consume, then we

must reject design; i architecture is merely the codiying o bourgeois

model o ownership and society, then we must reject architecture; iarchitecture and town planning is merely the ormalization o present

unjust social divisions, then we must reject town planning and its cit-

iesuntil all design activities are aimed towards meeting primary

needs. Until then, design must disappear. We can live without architec-

ture (2013: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstudio)

Socially engaged design is a response to Natalinis concern. It is a rejec-

tion o main-stram design practice with prepared solutions, debate or

questions o how to acilitate new social possibilities.


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From Politics

to Activism


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Te capitalistic system changed the majority o people into passive

consumers without responsibility with a believe that everything is al-

lowed but nothing could be and does not need to be ever changed. We

did not understand that being a-political was also a very political de-cision that eeded the status-quo. Previous political regimes took us to

the state we are today and people are starting to understand the power

o political ideologies and their eects on society.

Design theorist and author o the book Design as Politics (2011) ony

Fry identies how the majority o people today consider politics as

something tightly associated with the governments and regimes, some-thing unaccessible and out-o reach. We get engaged in the politics

only beore the elections and reerendums which represent rare situa-

tions when we have a believe we act politically (Fry 2011: 7).

But everything we do, everything we design comes as a consequence o

the ideology that we live in and is in this aspect a political act, an afr-

mation or critique to the existing situation.Dunne and Rabby, the pioneers o the critical design practice share the

same opinion: Design is ideological, the design process is inormed

by values based on a specic world view, or way o seeing and under-

standing reality. (Dunne and Rabby 2011: 28). Tey are not alone.

Fry understands design as a orm giving practice which represents

ideological embodiment o a particular politics in the context o how

society is constituted and structured as the organization o human co-

existence.

Tat is why he suggests the shi rom politics towards the political -

which means shiing eorts rom engagement with institutionalized

politics to engaging the political nature o the world around us. Tat

could be the only option to take power rom the institutional politics

that are rigid and ineective in their contemporary practice and actupon the acing problems in a more creative, inclusive and responsive

way (Fry 2011: 7).


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A brie Retrospective

o Alternative DesignPractices


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During the last century many utopian worlds, ideologies, systems, ob-

jects or maniestos have been developed in order to change the prot-

orientated mainstream design thinking. Unortunately proessional

design practice or the social need was always considered as a parallelalternative to the consumer orientated industry and was never truly

embraced by the market. When design practice emerged in the late

19th century as a result o industrial revolution it was shaped to serve

the mass production needs which consequently brought lie to mass

consumerism. Te main purpose o design was to give orm to prod-

ucts (commodities) or the newly emerged market. Te classical rela-tionship between industry, design, market and consumers has survived

until today and strongly embedded into our everyday lives.

In this part o the essay I will describe ew examples that represent

alternative models and tools which were proposed or raising voice,

speculating about ideals or developing tools or solving the real naturaland social problems. With the chosen examples I would like to show

the diversity o socially engaged design practice.

UOPIAN AILS

Te consumerist system was critiqued rom the early beginning. One

o the most evident examples is the utopian uture-orcasting book

News rom Nowhere (1890) by William Morris (1834 1996), a re-

nown british designer, architect and writer associated with the English

Arts and Cras movement. In his writings he imagines a society where

the means o production are commonly owned and democratically

controlled (Ericson 2011: 65). Te story is based on Marxist labour

theories and levitation o the romantic ideal lie during the Middle

Ages. In contrast to Marx, Morris is an obvious advocate o a slow,pleasurable lie, which results in a pleasurable and creative attitude to-

wards labour and nature.


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HE WORLD GAME

Buckminister Fuller (1895 1983) critiqued the capitalistic system

with inventing his own ideology. He envisioned systems and proto-

typed objects that were ment to improve the lives o the whole human-ity. Besides the amous geodesic domes that can be used as inexpensive

and easy to built shelters, interaction and didactic products as World

Game (1961) (simulated allocating process or locating resources) and

educational programs such as World Design Science Decade (1965

1975) (a program intended to demonstrate how design in the com-

prhensive sense could play a central role in addressing major worldproblems) were way to advanced to be accepted into the more general

education or policy orming system. Fuller was also a strong inuence

or the creation o the Whole Earth Catalog (1968 1972), conceptu-

alised by Steward Brand, an interactive magazine with DIY tools and

inspiration or building the social and spacial environment. Steve Jobs

later on named the magazine the Google search engine o the sixties.

DESIGN FOR HE REAL WORLD

Alongside Fuller the visionary designer Victor Papanek (1923 1988)

in his book Design or the Real World (1971) talks about design as a

problem solving tool or improving the lie o the society. He strongly

critiques the superciality and irresponsibility o the existing indus-

try and education, while he deends the responsible attitude towards

environment, stresses the importance o participation o the public in

design processes and ghts or the democratisation o design eld. He

critiques how has the contemporary industrial design:

... put murder on a mass-production basis. By designing criminally

unsae automobiles that kill or maim nearly one million people aroundthe world each year, by creating whole new species o permanent gar-

bage to clutter up the landscape, and by choosing materials and pro-


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cesses that pollute the air we breathe, designers have become a danger-

ous breed. And the skills needed in these activities are taught careully

to young people. (Papanek 1985: IX).

Papanek encouraged designers to educate their clients, initiate their

own projects. He was a inuential representative o social and environ-

mental design, working with minorities and third world society, pro-

moting a sort o low-tech and pragmatical design wisdom.

ACCESSIBLE COMMODIIESIn the times o modernism there was a strong belie that the countries

with higher social standards (Yugoslavia, Sweden, Finland, Norway,

Germany ... ) the industry (with brands like Iskra, Praktika ...) was try-

ing to reach the market through economic standardization and acces-

sibility o modern products to provide every household with aordable

commodities like urniture, plates, phones, cars. Te economist along-side with designers were acting social in a top down manner, presum-

ing what people may need or want to have.

DESIGNING MANIFESOS

Visual communication designers raised their voice o non-satisaction

with the amous Maniesto First things First (1964 revised in the

2000), which critiqued the design role as a tool or ullling consumer-

ists ake pleasures and demanded rom design practitioners to become

more critical, democratic and add a humanist dimension to their work.

GLOBAL DISCUSSIONS

Some proposals nally came rom the governmental initiative with

Te Earth Summit that took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It unc-tioned as a good common-ground platorm to talk about Earth re-

sources and social issues and think about new appropriate strategies. It


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seems like this was the rst global event that brought together dierent

countries to think and talk about the serious environmental, political

and social issues. Te culture o sustainability was born as a result o

the event happening (Margolin 2002: 96).

DESIGNING IN RANSIION

Although the idea o how design practice could take care o society is

as old as the term design is and is continuously present until today, it

was unortunately always considered as a decorative alternative.

oday it seems like we are acing some major changes. System break-down and contemporary technology nally gave possibility to react

in a collaborative manner and start implementing socially engaged

changes we all long or. Te blurriness o the transitional situation is

usually a perect timing to developed new critical roles and emerg-

ing tactics which question, research and serve the needs o the thirsty

society. Te ideological atmosphere is slowly starting to shi as youngdesigners are beginning to understand that the neo-liberal order will

not work out as a succesul system in the uture and are starting to re-

organize and redesign the purpose o design itsel. It is becoming clear

that: designers will need to develop new communication strategies

and move rom narratives o production to narratives o consumption,

or the aesthetics o use. Tat is, they will have to shi emphasis rom

the object and demonstrating its easibility to the experience it can o-

er. (Dunne and Raby: 36).

Te new practices are still acing many problems rom how to econom-

ically support its existence, how to nd the right public, how to com-

municate its values and purposes, how to approach with the right tools.

As theorist Clive Dilnot suggests Movement towards a post-productsociety, i.e., to one distinguished by a more explicit social managemet

o man-environement relations, is likely to bring back this historic


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sense o designs signicance (as planning). Design comes once again

as means o ordering the world rather than merely shaping commodi-

ties. (Dilnot in Margolin 2002: 97).


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Te Evolution

o Critique


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But what is the dierence between the political stand o the past and

the present? Critical writer Ana Bates in her book Design and Politics

(2012) nicely concludes that the main mission o the western designers

o the previous generation was to use problem solving techniques anddesign or the production line in order to democratise the availability

o goods.

What has change today is that designers are expanding their interest

rom object production to creation o networks, system and beyond,

using their knowledge and skills to push boundaries o the classicalroles o design practice. As a consequence they have to re-design their

proessional roles and aims and nd creative solutions to develop new

strategies, methods and tools so that they could eectively tackle the

existing problems (Bates 2012: 9-10).

CRIIQUE OF HE CRIIQUEAlthough the designs attempt to help the world go into the right direc-

tion sounds like a good plan, there has been several adequate critiques

about the so called progressive design that embraces disciplines like

social design, participatory design, design or social innovation, hu-

man-centred design. Issues like power, inequity, efcacy, needs, proes-

sional vs. other values, models o economic development, incommen-

surable and conicting modes o understanding and being in the world

are very delicate and have to be well researched beore acting.

opics concerning the raise o third world education or technology

supply, to make an example, seem like a very generic imposition o

western values and believes and might in some cases be also seen as an

aggressive reprogramming o oreign cultures to t the western phi-

losophy. What is progress and what is development to who? Is the en-gaged perspective to help people in developing countries only a west-

ern emotional satisaction or a true response to help a riend in need?


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What rights do we have to develop other cultures? Who benets rom

that (Anne-Marie Willis 2013)?

Many ethical questions might be raised in relation to more delicatedesign strategies that have to deal with intangible and participatory

design processes. For example to what extent has design the right to

tackle the behavioural processes o human being? What happens when

the nudges like Mosquito, an electronic device which emits a requency

unheard by adults but highly irritation to teenagers, prevents young-

sters rom gathering in certain shop, government and council territo-ries? Who benets rom the change, what i we do not agree with the

political motives (Bates 2012: 19)?

Can participatory design exploit the public voice in order to impose

the proposed ideology?

Did we maybe go to ar with trying to take control over designing eve-rything? Is taking control the new obsessive orm o progress? What

happens i one day design becomes so democratic and transparent that

it can not dene itsel and everyone becomes a designer o a kind? Is

design only an ideological method? Many questions concerning con-

temporary design practice still need to be posed and answered.


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Why do we need

alternatives ora brie History

o Capitalism


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"A world where shopping has more political impact than voting is a

thread to democracy." (Dunne and Raby 2011: 31).

Design as a term was emerged aer the 'Industrial Revolution' (1760 1840) in England and spread across Europe and America. It is a

product o western industrial capitalism. Te system put an end to the

artisans workshops, guilts and journeymen and gave birth to actory

production and agriculture mechanisation. It set in a new work divi-

sion and specialisation. By the time it established the global domina-

tion o the capitalist mode o production (Burnham 2003: ?).

But the capitalist ideology was comming into practice in dierent

modes. Social capitalism that was adopted by the Scandianvian coun-

ries shared merly notihing with the ree-market liberalism or even

neo-liberalism practiced by Regan and English (Margaret Tatcher)

and American (Ronald Regan) market.

Aer the all o the Berlin wall the decay o communism let capitalism

which (ourished in the neo-libelaristic orm) became the only extist-

ing and thereore sel-regulating system, which worked against social

laws o the countries, as its only goal was the short term prot. Design

nurtured the system with providing and advertising various commodi-

ties to a mass consumerism market.

Nowadays with the help o technology the majority o the world lives

as a globalized inormation society and operates in an international

'laisez-aire' trade, which is a growth based system that does not take in

the account that the 'limited' resources o the planet . Trough globali-

zation design has become a subject o a common concern. Te capital-istic model expaned to that extent that the private sector with the prot

oriented governence had bigger power than the state, corruption was


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growing and the banks were trading with loans without resposbility.

"Te annual values o sales o each o the six largest transnational cor-

porations, ranging between 111 million dollars and 126 billion dollars,

are now exceeded by the GDPs o only 21 nation states, or example".(Dunne and Raby 2011: 31).

Design was put in the position o mass production, promotion and

gaining a short therm prot without taking care about quality, pur-

pose, process and values o products. As an act o disagreement and

rebel towards the consumerist position o design proession which

was obsessed with creating appealing visual identities, brands anduser-riendy utilities, independent creatives and academic researchers

started to develop new alternatives, philosophical attitudes and critical

approaches.


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System

Shif


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Te 2008 economical crash-down painully conrmed that the western

civilisation needs radical changes in order to unction in the uture. It

resulted in a massive unemployment, worse living standards, geneti-

cally modied and innutritious ood, bad healthcare ... oday we livein a period where people are starting to understand that they can not

count on the politicians to make their lives better. Parliamentary sys-

tems are loosing their power and credibility in orming civil policies.

Te unwillingness o institutional politics to react in solving the prob-

lems gave power to masses to join together, sel-orginase and improve

their lives by themselves. Communication technology has enabled themajority o the (western) world to ollow up trends and news all over

the globe, to network and collaborate. oday it is possible to observe a

re-newed interest in 'the communal' as people once again try to ormu-

late possibilities or sharing (ownership, ideas), collaborating, network-

ing ...

Alongside a resh bottom-up inactive is acting as a new political alter-native to the oppressed institutionalized governance. A new movement

o activism and civil initiative is becoming more and more inuential

(Occupy and Arab Spring) in changing the world order.

I we talk about the globalised world it it important not to orget the

newly emerged mass market o the asian and some arican countries

that surly inuence on the global situation. In this point I will live this

discussion to uture investigation.


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NEED FOR HE ENGAGING POSIION

Can we look on the reormative nature o the design proession and it's

newly emerged practices as 'magic' tools that might help reorm our

present to ollow a brighter uture? Can we see the new socially en-gaged projects as 'signs rom the uture' (aer Slavoj iek), optimistic

prepositions that we can catch upon, believe but understand their real

meaning only once we look at them rom the past?

We can understand the newly born phenomena reerring to active civil

initiatives rom two opposing stands, as the Slovenian philosopherand cultural critic Slavoj iek (1949 ) explains in the last chapter o

his latest book 'Te Year o Dreaming Dangerously' (2012). One is the

position o a critical leist who understands the peoples revolting ac-

tivities as events that can only bring a bigger social conusion and op-

pression.

Te other one is to look on the situation rom the engaged, subjective

position which allows us to ollow the movement and thereore inu-

ence our projection in uture to become a hopeul space where better

things are possible to happen.

Tese opposing positions can be also compared with the two rench

words or the uture: 'avenir' and 'utur'. 'Avenir' signies the events

that are yet to come, while 'utur' is seen as the determinate continu-

ation o the present. I we see the uture rom the what will be, will be

point o view it is almost impossible to change it or the better. iek

argues that i we realize uture as an apocalyptic image o the world

that is doomed to a major ecological, economical and social break-

down than this becomes our virtual 'attractor' towards which our real-ity tends. It might be worth thinking about it (iek 2012).


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Diversity o

ContemporaryDesign Disciplines


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Design today is involving in a broad range o activities rom produc-

ing tangible objects through developing systems to tackling the world

issues in the level o ideas and paradigms. It can be perceived rom a

vast variety o dierent lenses. It can be perceived as applied arts, prac-tical philosopy, articial-science, political activism, business strategy

or something in between. Design is also operating in dierent stages

o the product creation, orm conceptualisation, production to com-

munication. Te constructed image o our understanding depends

on the choice o the perspective we choose to see-through. Can we

equally talk about the invention o condom, the community work obuilding the Brotherhood and Unity Highway in ormer Yugoslavia or

constructing a commercial advertising campaign 'Dove campaign or

Real Beauty'? How can we structure socially engaged design projects;

rom their ideological/theoretical perspective to the change they have

brought into our everyday lives? Should we also think about the 'prod-

ucts' that were designed by unproessional designers?

Several new design disciplines emereged in past years, which we can

nd under dierent ormulations such as social, activist, critical, re-

lational, humanitarian, 'participatory design', 'service design', 'human-

centered design', 'transormative design' ... Tey are all slightly diverse

in their methods, approaches and outcomes but all share the ocus on

design processes like systems, services and interactions, instead o ex-

ploring the orm, unction and usability o created objects.

All the new emerging orms o design share the re-directive nature o

design practice and an attempt to redene its contents and make them

t the new concerns. Most o them are based on an emancipatory

model o dialogical interaction. Within slightest variations they shear

the interest in engaging public realm into design processes and appre-ciate cooperation, dialog and working with trans-design practitioners.

Since their subject, that has become strongly politically engaged, has


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shied they need to design new tools, strategies and methods to t

their new points o interest. o be more concrete they are all interested

in the global problems society aces today: the break down o our sys-

tems; the melt-down o our economy; our ragile environment; over-population; awed production systems; war. (Anne-Marie Willis 2013)

ENFAN ERRIBLE OF DESIGN PRACICE: CRIICAL DESIGN

Critical design is closely related to Speculative Design, Conceptual

design and Design Noir which investigates how electronic object inu-

ence people's experience o their environment.Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, the parents o contemporary critical

design concept, suggest design can all into two very broad categories:

afrmative design and critical design. Te rst one helps to stand the

status quo in supporting the industry and political agenda, the second

one critiques the situation and oers alternative solutions or the so-

cial, ecological, economical and cultural values. (28, design act)Critical design sees design as a social critique. It is a intellectual al-

ternative to commercial design which creates products that are con-

sidered as so called value ctions, objects with realistic technology

with ctional values. e purpose o this visually embodied values is to

simulate discussion among, designers, industry and the audience. Te

objects uses speculative design proposals: mix ction and reality, bor-

row commercial structures and combine dierent media in an eort to

engage and challenge the viewer. Te object is considered as a product

or the mind (Dunne and Raby 2011: 42-44).

Design proessor Bill Gaver sees it as an alternative which can go into

the environments and can help people reect on the relationships with

the world around them through this technologies instead o designingsolutions or particular needs technologies. echnologies become situ-

ated in the social context and helps us reect the world around us.


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A Short Analysis

o 4 Socially andPolitically Engaged

Design Projects


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I this section I want to present some o the practical maniestations o

contemporary design practice. I tried to choose very dierent exam-

ples, some o them bordering beyond the expected to give an impres-

sion o the diversity o design interests and outcomes.

SEED FOUNDAION

FOOD LOOP PROJEC 2009

About: Te FoodLoop is a pilot action research project that deals with

closed-loop waste system, where ood waste is collected, composted

and then reused to grow ruits and vegetable. It is a community-ledproject that is created as a collaboration o designers, researchers,

residents and local authorities. Te ood is being composted with a

'Rocked Composter', specially designed device which speeds up the

process o ood degradation.

eam: Seed oundation transdisciplinatory team: designers, research-

ers, architects, sustainability experts ... (concept), community serviceprovider, the local community centre, residents o the estate, the local

council (implementation)

Funder: Local authorities

Addressed to: residents

Communiction: Action-based co-design workshops (direct); blogs,

news, social media (general or design public)

Outcome: community waste co-design toolkit, project will serve as a

good example and motivation or similar initiatives, give insights how

to engage hard reach groups, results are visible only on the place o

research.


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An interview with Clare Brass,

ounder and designer at Te Seed Foundation

How would you describe your design practice? How does it dierentiaterom other similar non-design based socially responsive practices?

My design practice is based on the identication o social or environ-

mental issues that may give rise to entrepreneurial opportunities. Te

ocus o the design work is on the system rather than objects, which

are only created as tools necessary to make the system work. I would

say this increasingly addresses relationships between stakeholders andbetween users and touchpoints.

When do you envison the design project ending?

Te project, in theory, should be nancially viable enough to be sel-

perpectuating and never ending until the problem that it addresses no

longer exists.

What is the value o this project aer its realisation?

Te value o the project should be able to be measured in social and

environmental terms. What impact is the project having on the en-

vironmental issue it set out to address? What are the social benets

brought about by the project? (eg in the FoodLoop project we can

count both tonnes o biodegradable waste diverted rom landll and

number o jobs created or local people).

o what extent do your projects reach the non-design stakeholders?

otally. My work does not address a design audience at all, except or

the engagement o designers as ar as possible in the creation o the

project itsel.


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o what extent do you nd your projects successul in the context o their

positive infuence on the society?

Hard to say since this is hard to measure. Tere are downsides as well

as positives (eg some residents in Maiden Lane have complained aboutthe smell o the composting machine, which is partly a result o the

system not working properly). But in as ar as social benets can be

measured, the overall impact should be positive.

How important is the liespan/outcome o your projects aer their reali-

sation in unction o sustaining your agency/consultancy/practice?Critical. SEED Foundation means to test the viability o design-led so-

cial enterprise thereore longevity is o utmost importance, particularly

aer handover stage

How well do you think are the public, industry, clients and government

inormed about the evolving power o socially responsive design practice?Poorly in all cases. But possibly there are slight improvements. I actu-

ally think that the terminology is not helpul - most people in every

sector would associate design only with high-value goods.

What can designers do to improve the power and recognition o socially

responsive design practice?

Designers need to make solutions as cool and sexy as possible.

How do you conduct your outreach? Do you mostly search or potential

clients or do they nd you?

Not sure you what you mean by outreach... We do a lot o networking,

we make unding applications that are appropriate to our methodolo-

gy, we get some interest via word o mouth, and I guess the more workyou do the easier it becomes.


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What are the most eective communication models or mediating design

practice to the non-design public?

Face-to-ace contact. Events. Demonstration...

Do aesthetics play any prominent role in design process? (I Yes describe

Why?)

We have ound that public bodies (eg government, local councils etc)

get really excited by well-prepared presentations, things that would be

just banal to any designer. Tis was denitely helpul when we made

our rst contacts with local government. Tey were impressed!Aesthetics however is just a by-product o good design.

DALE SKO HACK 2006

OO VAN BUSCH

About: Six ashion designers worked in the shoe actory production in

rural Norway in a collaboration with the workers on a project to ndnew alternatives o production process and work model and to pro-

duce unexpected and re-resened results.

eam: Otto van Busch (concept), Arne & Carlos, Michael, Ulla

Chauton, Siv Stldal, Siri Johansen, actory workers

Funder: supported by Innovation Norge, Fjaler Naringsutveckling,

Norsk Kulturrad, IASPIS and Nordic Artist Center

Addressed to: actory production

Communiction: workshop (direct), clothing (product); blogs, news,

social media, ashion events, awards (general or design public)

Outcome: permanent prototype lab, new product line, local pride, na-

tional attention, international ashion awards


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BIOJEWLLERY 2007

IAN HOMPSON, NIKKI SO, OBIE KERRIDGE

About: Designing rings with bioengineered bone with an aim to bring

the medical and technical processes o bioengineering out o the laband into the public arena.

eam: obie Kerridge and Nikki Stott, design researchers at the Royal

College o Art, and Ian Tompson, a bioengineer at Kings College

London, public, couples

Funder: Engineering and Physical Science Council as a part o their

Partnership or Public Awareness initiative.Addressed to: public debate, reaching dierent audiences

Communiction: upstream orms o engagement - discussions, prod-

uct (direct); exhibitions, conerences and events, education, books and

papers, magazines, radio discussions, internet articles

Outcome: open debate, still open to urther results

RIVER CRAB BANQUE

AI WEIWEI

About: Te banquet was set up as a arewell party beore the studio o

controversially chinese artist would be demolished by the chinese gov-

ernment. Te artist was placed under house arrest, but the party still

went on. Te participants created a lot o photos and video material

that was published and reached people all over the world.

eam: engaged public participants

Funder: Ai WeiWei ?

Addressed to: engaged public or raising voice or democracy and

reedom o speech

Communiction: twitter, internet articles, news, magazines, debates

Outcome: opening debate, international awareness about chinese gov-ernment oppressions


34/38

o Conclude


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First I thought these essay would address the post production phase o

the projects and detailed evaluation o the nal results. When I started

to write I gured out that I would rst want to build a clearer per-

ception o socially and politically engaged design eld. o set up therames: why and how the changes happened what is going on today.

Because is oen thought that the critical and socially engaging position

o design is a novelty, I wanted to present that it appeared as a constant

parallel to the mainstream design. It appeared in many dierent orms,

just like today. Tis knowledge about various practices, methods andelds where design acts in this transitional phase o our society will

serve me as basic knowledge pool. Researching and analyzing a variety

o contemporary socially and politically design projects I have come to

a conclusion that there are dierent types o design practices that con-

nect to dierent audiences and want to evoke dierent results. Each o

them has a specic position and reaches a specic set o stakeholderson dierent levels. On one side art-design based practices are more

in the position to pose questions about the consequences o existing

values and raise public debates business-design practices are more

connected with strategical problem-solving techniques that shape our

every-day lives. Since the practice is in an evolving stage o re-direction

it still has a lot potential to dene its role, intellectual stance and opera-

tional activity in order to speciy design's intention and communicate a

more consistent image to the non-design stakeholders.

I think what the practice at this moment needs is to present the ideas

and capacities o design to a broader public through direct commu-

nication channels like workshops, events, debates and discussions,

education and not ashion magazines, styling V shows, brandedidentities and popular media. Te designers today are doing their best,

maybe they just need stronger representatives to help them be more


36/38

visible on the places where their work lives a good mark. Maybe we

can swich perspectives and look rom the public side? What are they

thinking about the subject?


37/38

Bibliography


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Dunne, A. and Raby, F. (2011) Designer as Author, in Ericson, M. and Maz, R. (ed.) Design

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