INTRODUCTION “DESIGN, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CREATING INTENTIONALLY DISRUPTIVE CREATIVE INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE FUNCTIONALLY IMBUED WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO AND MAKING POSITIVE CHANGE.” — L. ACAROGLU, 2016 Disruptive design, as a catalyst for sociopolitical change, is not a foreign concept. When we consider the realm of social design — for inclusivity, accessibility, and even human rights protection — we see how being calculative in process can lead to powerful, impactful outcomes. In similar fashion, social change can be achieved with disruptive design. History witnessed successful examples of disruptive change as early as the 20th century during the women’s suffrage movement, to the Extinction Rebellion (XR) in 2019 and more recently, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations in 2020. Despite having faced unfavourable odds, their sociopolitical goals were still largely achieved due to a united intention: to selectively intervene the system, perhaps even radically so, and therefore enact change to last. Evolved throughout decades of activist movement — this intention to think, behave and design disruptive tactics for change — is precisely what my dissertation will explore.
Fig 1. Screenshot of Google Image result page of ‘disruption’
Defining ‘disruption’ or even ‘disruptive design’ can be a challenge. Plainly speaking, ‘disruption’ is defined as “a disturbance or problem which interrupt an event, activity, or process” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2020). Yet, the visualisation of disruption (Fig 1) displays an array of abstract images, conveying a juxtaposed sense of both urgency and inspiration (Google Images, 2021). The reception of disruption is also somewhat conflicting, subject to one’s feelings towards change. No design is absolutely inclusive, and disruptive design is no different. However, ‘disruption’ hailed positively in the discourse of innovation and technology — but for whom, and in what sense exactly?
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