Conference paper

Design as a new futural epistemology

H.Edeholt, |

This paper reflects on the crucial tension between design, development and global fairness when it comes to addressing Climate Change in a relevant manner. Underpinned by these tensions, the paper discuss how two design schools, one in Global North and one in Global South, through a research funded project now are exploring new ways to scale up its present local approaches to more glocal ones. The paper argues that this (to paraphrase Herbert Simon) calls for radically new ways to ‘change existing and forthcoming situations to preferred futures’. We argue that design no longer can be understood and confined within its current forms. Forms that we either finds too commercial or too local in space and time to effectively address Climate Change. In stead we argue that design has to change into a far more ambitious, critical and intellectually informed practice that at the same time becomes far more visionary and action focused. This implies that we need to educate designers that really can suggest feasible and alternative visions that challenge present day’s single route ‘development paradigm’. The paper is not conclusive but hope to nurture a creative debate about educational issues being necessary in, and beyond, all strands of design.

H.Edeholt, . 2015. 'Design as a new futural epistemology'. In Proceedings of LearnXDesign. The 3rd International conference for design education researchers. Chicago ILL: 28.06.2015–30.06.2015.