Pause, reflect, activate, impact: Co-designing consensus and dissensus for positive societal impacts
Alastair Fuad-Luke Professor Emerging Design Practices Aalto ARTS, Aalto University, Helsinki
Open Design, Shared Creativity FadFest, Barcelona, 01-02 July 2012
‘Pause reflect activate impact’ by Alastair Fuad-Luke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License., where the following symbol is given. All other third party content is not covered under this licence.
Design activism is evolving‌fast!
A preliminary definition of design activism is ‘design thinking, imagination and practice applied knowingly or unknowingly to create a counter-narrative aimed at generating and balancing positive social, institutional, environmental and economic change’.
Fuad-Luke, A. (2009) Design Activism: Beautiful Strangeness for A Sustainable World, London: Earthscan, p27.
What are the strategic objectives of ’open design’ and ’shared creativity’? Can we really encourage positive societal change through open and co-design approaches?
If ’yes’, what do we need to focus on?
The challenge is huge…we have a perfect storm of ’wicked problems’… in the era of the ’Anthropocene’
from Holocene to Anthropocene
Holocene – since the last Ice Age, 10000 years ago Anthropocene – “the age of man” - a term coined by Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen in 2002. Recognised that humans are a geophysical force.
1876 8,000BC
Holocene
BC
1950s
AD
Sources: Image from http://www.geo.ucalgary.ca/~macrae/timescale/time_scale.gif; Vince, G. (2011) ‘The planet is entering a new epoch, say geologists – and it’s all down to humans’, p22, The Guardian, 4 June 2011.
Sedimentary plastic rocks of the future?
Source: The world's rubbish dump: a tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan By Kathy Marks, Asia-Pacific Correspondent, and Daniel Howden http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-worlds-rubbish-dump-a-tip-that-stretches-from-hawaii-to-japan-778016.html; photo sourced from http://marineinsight.com/marine/environment/what-is-the-pacific-ocean-garbage-patch/
Wicked problem I: Peak oil, hydrocarbon global economy
Source: Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas
Dreams over?...in a Post Peak-oil world‌
x
x
x 2050
Wicked problem II: A rapidly warming world
+3 or +9 degrees by 2100?
source : METEO FRANCE
Wicked problem III: Water scarcity
Source: WRI Drinking from the Same Well: What Water Scarcity Means for Business and Society,Moderator, Carment Revenga, WRI, 7th Sustainable Enterprise Summit, March 17-18, Washington DC
Wicked problem IV: Loss of biodiversity
Source: UC San Diego Biological Sciences 2010
Wicked problem V: Global financial chaos
Source: International Monetary Fund
Wicked problem VI: Massive unemployment
Spanish unemployment hits 5.64million, 24.4% of workforce (51.5% of young people under 25 years old) in April 2012 Source: Eurostat 2010 and 2012
Wicked problem VII Growth for which economy? Based upon search results in Blackle.com 31.05.2012
Wicked problem VII Growth for which economy? Based upon search results in Blackle.com 31.05.2012
1 Service 2 National 3 Social 4 Open 5 Information 6 Global 7 Local 8 Market 9 Political 10 Digital
11 Green 12 Money-free 13 Social 14 market 14 Time-based 15 FIRE (Finance Insurance & Real Estate) 16 Black 17 Design 18 Regional 19 Industrial 20 Learning
Alternative & Emergent economies Non-monetary Un-measured or unofficial Barter Gift Money-free Time-based
Black Grey Informal
Based upon an internet search 31.05.2012
Dynamics Environmental technology orientated Alternative Distributed Emerging Open Transition
BioClean Tech EcoGreen Lithium Low-carbon Renewable energy Sustainable
Dominant political economies Type
Sector
Political orientation
Geographical & spatial
Conceptual Dual Hydrocarbon Market Mass consumerism Mixed Palace (historical use) Post-scarcity Subsistence
Creative Design Digital FIRE (Finance Insurance & Real Estate) Industrial Information Knowledge Learning Service
Planned Political Self-managed (decentralised) Social Social market Socialist market Stable State directed Sustainable Unsustainable
Global Local National Regional Distributed
Based upon an internet search 31.05.2012
Can open design be a means to rebalance Castells ’space of places’ through re-negotiation of the ’space of flows’… …by understanding which capitals we wish to grow, nourish, protect or diminish?
‘Space is the expression of society’ (Castells 2000, 440-441)
Castells, M. (1996/2000) The Rise of the Network Society. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume 1. 1st and 2nd editions. Oxford:Blackwell.
Space of flows is ‘the material organisation of time-sharing social practices that work through flows’ (flows of capital, information, technology, social interaction, images, sounds and symbols) (Castells 2000, 442)
Castells, M. (1996/2000) The Rise of the Network Society. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume 1. 1st and 2nd editions. Oxford:Blackwell.
Space of places, place being ‘a locale whose form, function and meaning are self-contained within the boundaries of physical contiguity’ (Castells 2000, 453)
Castells, M. (1996/2000) The Rise of the Network Society. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume 1. 1st and 2nd editions. Oxford:Blackwell.
How does open design re-negotiate the space of flows & space of places?
Space of flows
open design ?
Space of places
Castells recognised three mutually supporting layers:
• a circuit of electronic exchanges • its nodes and hubs. • the spatial organisation of the dominant, managerial elites
’Capitalia’ – key capitals to consider when we design
NATURAL
Biotic/living
Any living plant, animal or other life-form which contributes to the world’s ecosystems
Natural ecology
Abiotic/non-living
Any non-living component which contributes to the world’s ecosystems, including geological, hydrological, atmospheric and solar resources.
’Capitalia’ – key capitals to consider when we design
Human capital….‘any one individual’s physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual capacities’ and can include ‘cultural capital’ (Porritt, J. 2007 Capitalism as if the World Matters: 163) and (FuadLuke 2009:, Design Activism: Beautiful strangeness for a sustainable world, 8)
ANTHROPOCENTRIC
Human Social
Human ecology
Public Commercial
’Capitalia’ – key capitals to consider when we design ‘Social capital …concerns connections between and within social networks that encourage civic engagement, engender trust, create mutual support, establish norms, contribute to communal health, cement shared interests, facilitate individual or collective action, and generate reciprocity between individuals and between individuals and a community.’ (Fuad-Luke 2009:, Design Activism: Beautiful strangeness for a sustainable world, 7)
Human ANTHROPOCENTRIC
Social Human ecology
Public Commercial
’Capitalia’ – key capitals to consider when we design
Human ANTHROPOCENTRIC Any capital owned or managed by the state at national, regional and local levels. This includes buildings, infrastructure, intellectual property, financial assets and others.
Social Human ecology
Public Commercial
’Capitalia’ – key capitals to consider when we design
Human ANTHROPOCENTRIC Social Any capital owned or managed by private individuals in corporations, companies and enterprises. This includes buildings, infrastructure, intellectual property, financial assets, man-made goods, and/or manufacturing facilities and others.
Human ecology
Public
Commercial
’Capitalia’ – key capitals to consider when we design
Human NATURAL
ANTHROPOCENTRIC
Biotic/living
Natural ecology
Abiotic/non-living
Natural & Human Ecology
Social Human ecology
Public Commercial
What are we growing, nourishing, protecting and/or diminishing?
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? New resource use efficiency – existing artifacts
Democratisation of design, production and consumption
open design ’issues’?
Creation of new communities New ways of visualising information
Protecting & growing the Commons New models of enterprise New ways of designing & making New ways of generating concepts
Stimulated by van Abel et al (2011) Open Design Now, BIS Publishers, Creative Commons, Premsela & Waag Society
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? Public Domain with conditions
Copyleft - All wrongs reserved
Protecting & growing the Commons
Copyright - All rights reserved
Legal use of designs, sharing knowledge, generating & sharing skills, competences and Intellectual Property
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? New models of enterprise
Shio light by Daniel MacDonald via kickstarter.com
Smart Textile Services, waag.org
P2P transactions, short value chains, transparent, accessible, shareable,
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? New ways of designing & making
Downloadable designs, Droog.org
Shades of Wood Lamp by Jorn Van Eck and Overtreders Unlimiteddesigncontext.org
Openwear.org
Downloadable designs, Fritzing circuit boards, Instructables, 2D printing, 3D printing, cutting, generative design
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? New ways of generating concepts
Nicholas Mika’s Intermodal pop-up cafe space at TEDx Grand Rapids, on openideo.com
Instuctuables restaurant Afrikaanderwijk, Rotterdam, at instructablesrestaurant.com
Collaborative, user-centered, user-driven, co-design, co-creation, sharable, crowdsourcing, half-way designs
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? New ways of visualising information
Open Energy project, http://openenergy.francastillo.net/
Mapping issues, mapping live data, platforms for collaboration
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? Creation of new communities
Fab Labs by MIT, http://fab.cba.mit.edu/
Makerbot replicator, makerbot.com
Communities of practice/interest/place, alternative value chains, new societal structures e.g. Fab Labs, Ponoko, Makerbot, Frizing, Waag, Openideo, Instructables
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? Democratisation of design, production and consumption
Vambit by Drownspire, Boxlamp by madebydan, Cell Cycle Bracelet by Nervous System at ponoko.com
De-centralised, local and peer to peer production; anti-global economy; de-centralised power; alternative value chains; social modes of production; new attitudes (openness, transparency, sharing, possibilities); new social values
What ’issues’ are being addressed by open design? New resource use efficiency – existing artifacts
Shrunken sweater by Calypso Schuijt , www.platform21.nl,
Edible Chinese Checkers by Brenda Gartman INSTRUCTABLES, www.instructables.com
Re-use, re-cycling, re-purposing, repairing, redesign (DIWAMS, DIY, DIWO, DIT), hacking
Which ’capitals’ are being addressed by open design?
NATURAL
ANTHROPOCENTRIC
Human
Biotic/living
Natural ecology
Abiotic/non-living
Natural & Human Ecology
Social
Human ecology
Public
Commercial
The Sustainability Tetrahedron
to improve competitiveness
to minimize consumption of resources and ecological damage
ecological
economic
to strengthen participation
institutional
to strengthen cohesion
social Source: European DataBank Sustainable Development
Where is open design focusing on sustainability?
to improve competitiveness
to minimize consumption of resources and ecological damage
ecological
economic
to strengthen participation
institutional
to strengthen cohesion
social Source: European DataBank Sustainable Development
Open design only deals with part of the life cycle Waste stream End-of-life
Recycling, reuse
Virgin materials Concepting
Design file or blueprint
Extended life phase
Eco-efficiency & ecoeffectiveness of open design are not yet proven through the full life cycle
Digital distribution of the design
Local production
Use life phase Local distribution USER
Can we expand the open design agenda and make it more effective by embracing the co-design (designing together) approach? ‌by collectively defining the context, problem space and design brief‌ ‌by consensus?
We need to co-design upstream of the design brief
co-design Co-framing the context and problem space
upstream
Co-visioning, cocreating and cofuturing
downstream the design brief
sharing
experiences
understanding
designing
problems
solutions
Open co-design for new mobility products
‘c,mm,n’ – an OPEN SOURCE designed hydrogen car, launched Amsterdam, AutoRAI, Jan 2007 Partners: Netherlands Society for Nature and the Environment, The Technical University Delft, University of Eindhoven, University Enschede.
Co-designing new blueprints for enterprises
sow
know
eat
greet
Food Roots
Social cohesion
meet
grow
Food Roots was co-designed by Alaric Bozza, Alastair Fuad-Luke, Gina Lovett, Guy Robinson, Florian Gonzalez, Julia Lockheart, Julian Lindley, Lili de Larratea, Simon O’Rafferty and Valerie Abl, May 2009
Co-designing new blueprints for enterprises
trade
buy
cook
invest
share
Food Roots
Local economy
produce
Food Roots was co-designed by Alaric Bozza, Alastair Fuad-Luke, Gina Lovett, Guy Robinson, Florian Gonzalez, Julia Lockheart, Julian Lindley, Lili de Larratea, Simon O’Rafferty and Valerie Abl, May 2009
Can open co-design create new local enterprise models?
The People’s Supermarket, http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org
Can open co-design create new energy supply models?
Lunchbox Laboratory by Future Farmers, futurefarmers.com
How can we further challenge the paradigm? ‌Design by dissensus
MetaboliCity
MetaboliCity by Loop Ph http://loop.ph/bin/view/Loop/MetaboliCity
Ecobox
Ecobox project, La Chapelle by Atelier D’Architecture Autogeree, http://www.urbantactics.org
Taking the Street
Taking the Street project by Santiago Cirugeda, http://www.recetasurbanas.net
Boxhome, Tromso, Norway by Rintala Eggertsson
‘Social’ urban acupuncture – Design as Seeding
Circada by Marco Casagrande, Taipei, 2011
‘Social’ urban acupuncture – Micro-sites
Life Line by Andreas Fernandiz-Calvo (lhs) and SMILE, Wai Yi Lai, TaiK Environmental Art group, Helsinki, 2008.
Opening up in the city of Lahti‌from user-centred design to co-design‌the city is beginning to explore the benefits of encouraging collaborative projects and environments
Lahti …what kind of sustainable city is designed?
Teams mapping the stakeholders for ‘Lahti design city’
Stakeholder mapping for ‘Lahti design city’
1 Citizens ;2 City, Service Providers & Retailers ;3 Designers, educators, associations ;4 Industry, Funding organisations, Edcuational establsihments in and beyond Lahti Copyright City of Lahti 2011
Ideas ‘dot’ as a ‘life-cycle’ start/finish
Active, joyful co-design based upon real needs
I.C.E. and the city ‘meta-design brief’
‘Generating ideas and creating stories by joyful and active co-designing while recognising the importance of life cycles and real needs in our local environment and bio-region.’
Development of ideas >>>>>>>>
Lifecycles
Environment
Cdeas o-design
Ideas from people in Lahti
Growing ‘social capital’ in Lahti…
Ignite communities > PRIDE > OWNERSHIP
Share stories, tools Projects, events
COCREATE
Co-create tools, stories and projects/events to share design knowledge among and within all communities in Lahti to ‘ignite’ the ‘design city’ and give it pride, while giving ownership back to everyone
User-centred and co-design projects for Lahti 2002-2012 2002-2010 User-centred design
2011 onwards Co-design
Growing ‘manufactured capital’ in Lahti…
’GrowHow’’
Start-up spaces Prototyping ecodesign park & exhibition centre
An exhibition and prototyping eco-design/green design park where “GrowHow” knowledge (business) sits alongside (bio-)materials, bio-mass energy, quality assurance, supply chain and technical manufacturing advice/knowledge. Inexpensive or free start-up space to help grow the design communities.
A new Clean Design Centre has recently opened in Lahti
The new Clean Design centre, Lahti Science & Business Park, Rikka Salokannel and others, http://www.lahtisbp.fi/fi/toimitilat_tutkimustilat/cleandesign_center
Growing ‘financial capital’ in Lahti…
’Seed capital’
Willingness to risk & experiment
Return on Design investment
More easily accessible funds and ‘seed capital’ for pilot projects, SMEs, young entrepreneurs, accepting that some of the funds have to accept the risk of some failure against the potential successes. Proof of Return on Design investment. Imaginative ways of raising money from notfor-profit and co-operative banks and by crowdsourcing (sourcing from communities, individuals).
Growing ‘natural capital’ in Lahti…
Nature’s cycles & zero waste LIVING BREATHING GREEN CITY Biomaterials, bio-mass, bio-shapes
Ecotourism + designing & making
A living, breathing, zero-waste, green city reflecting nature’s aesthetic shapes on a small and large scale, with hydro cycles, bio-mass energy and a vibrant ‘making’ ecotourism culture in and outside the city.
Involving the citizens and other stakeholders in Lahti
http://www.greencity.fi/en
Growing ‘human capital’ in Lahti…
Share skils
Widen horizons
OPEN KNOWLEDGE
Upgrade skills
Improve abilities
Widening horizons by improving skills and abilities, then sharing them and making the knowledge open to benefit everyone. Upgrading skills to strengthen individuals [and the potential of Lahti].
Dreams, needs, challenges – co-designing with the citizens
Getting to know the Tonttila community, Lahti, May 2012, http://window874.com/2012/06/08/tonttila-1exploring-community-views-and-needs/, Photos: Katharina Mosbus
Designing at complimentary scales
. Powers of 10, Charles & Ray Eames, 1977
How to balance Design as planning with Design as seeding? Hard - permanent Municipalities
Commercial-economy
DESIGN AS PLANNING Natural Biotic + Abiotic ecology
Human ecology
DESIGN AS SEEDING Socio-economy
Communities Soft - ephemeral
Measuring the impact of designing and making on social capital… …some projects in Devon, UK
Source: ‘Re-crafting capitalism, regenerating societies: How do designer-makers amplify, build and regenerate social capital?’ Making Futures: The Crafts in the Context of Emerging Global Sustainability Agendas, a conference organised by Plymouth College of Art, Dartington, Devon, UK, 15-16.09.2011
Social Capital – three approaches
Pierre Bourdieu, French social theorist, 1970s/1980s Marxist concerns, for example, equal access to resources James Coleman, American economic and social theorist Rational action theory – rational individuals acting in their own interests Robert Putnam, American political scientist Association and civic activity as basis for social integration
Source: Field, J. (2010) Social Capital. 2nd edition, p1-2, 15. London: Routledge.
Defining ‘social capital’
‘Social capital holds a wide variety of meanings but most agree that it concerns connections between and within social networks that encourage civic engagement, engender trust, create mutual support, establish norms, contribute to communal health, cement shared interests, facilitate individual or collective action, and generate reciprocity between individuals and between individuals and a community.’
Fuad-Luke, A. (2009) Design Activism: Beautiful Strangeness for a Sustainable World, p7, London: Earthscan
Focal areas and ‘potential indicators’ for measuring how social capital is developed STRUCTURE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Degree of organisational structure Quality of functioning of structure Effectiveness of internal communication Degree of identity of participants with structure Effectiveness of external communication
Measuring SOCIAL CAPITAL
Focal areas and ‘potential indicators’ for measuring how social capital is developed STRUCTURE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
RELATIONSHIPS
Degree of organisational structure Quality of functioning of structure Effectiveness of internal communication Degree of identity of participants with structure Effectiveness of external communication
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Measuring SOCIAL CAPITAL
Strength of ties between individuals Levels of trust between individuals Levels of sharing and co-operation Levels of participation Levels of consensus
Focal areas and ‘potential indicators’ for measuring how social capital is developed STRUCTURE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
RELATIONSHIPS
Degree of organisational structure Quality of functioning of structure Effectiveness of internal communication Degree of identity of participants with structure Effectiveness of external communication
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Measuring SOCIAL CAPITAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE 1. 2. 3. 4.
Exchange of explicit skills and knowledge Exchange of tacit skills and knowledge Shared understanding of the project context Sense of challenging values & meanings
Strength of ties between individuals Levels of trust between individuals Levels of sharing and co-operation Levels of participation Levels of consensus
Focal areas and ‘potential indicators’ for measuring how social capital is developed STRUCTURE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
RELATIONSHIPS
Degree of organisational structure Quality of functioning of structure Effectiveness of internal communication Degree of identity of participants with structure Effectiveness of external communication
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Strength of ties between individuals Levels of trust between individuals Levels of sharing and co-operation Levels of participation Levels of consensus
Measuring SOCIAL CAPITAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE 1. 2. 3. 4.
Exchange of explicit skills and knowledge Exchange of tacit skills and knowledge Shared understanding of the project context Sense of challenging values & meanings
EXPERIENCES 1. 2. 3. 4.
Strength of peer-to-peer interaction Levels of absorption in activities Improvements in self-esteem of participants Levels of sense of community engagement
Source: ‘Re-crafting capitalism, regenerating societies: How do designer-makers amplify, build and regenerate social capital?’ Making Futures: The Crafts in the Context of Emerging Global Sustainability Agendas, a conference organised by Plymouth College of Art, Dartington, Devon, UK, 15-16.09.2011
Give Fleece A Chance
sheep farmers & rare breeds
knitters & other creative people
the public ONLINE WOOL DIRECTORY Give Fleece a Chance, Copyright Claire Crompton, 2010 – a student on the MA Entrepreneurship for Creative Practice, Plymouth College of Art http://givefleeceachance.com/pattern/ and http://www.wooldirectory.org.uk/
Hands On Brixham – Transition Brixham and Brixham YES
Brixham YES and The Edge, http://www.brixhamedge.org
•20 designer-makers and artists involved •Over 1,000 people attended the event on 19-20 March 2011 •Representatives from 12 organisations
Imperfect Cinema – democratising film-making
All photos Copyright the film makers, sourced from www.imperfectcinema.com
•50 films made and screened •75-100 people per event •1000+ people involved
Did each project build social capital? STRUCTURES
Imperfect Cinema Hands On GFAC
EXPERIENCES
RELATIOINSHIPS
Poor
Moderate Strong
SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE
Exploring how open design can be applied to the design of services as well as the design of products‌
Aalto University’s 365wellbeing project explores new services
12 projects exploring how design can contribute to positive wellbeing in the lives of the elderly, Healthcare, the Suburbs, Smoke Free Environments and more, http://365wellbeing.aalto.fi/
How can (open) design (& shared creatvity) stimulate new hope and growth in Spain? •Encourage young people by a national programme of open, codesign and service design training • Explore alternative economies (service, co-, open, green/eco, non-monetary, time-based, local) • Expand the infrastructure to enable distributed local and regional design, production & consumption
• Focus on renewable solar energy and energy efficiency • Become experts in water use efficiency
Can open design create a new generation of entre-donneurs? PARTICIPATORY PRACTICE
co-preneur
co-donneur
[collaborative enterprise]
[collective altruism]
COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
entre-preneur
entre-donneur
[individual enterprise]
[individual altruism] INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE
How does open design balance these‌?
Me Generation (individualism)
Human focused (anthoropocentrism)
Nature focused (biocentrism)
Sharing Generation (communitarianism)
The MootSpace – Participatory Design Democracy
A space where all design voices can be heard, where there is participatory democracy and anticipatory co-futuring Fuad-Luke, A. (2009) Design Activism, London:Earthscan, pp196-200
1%
What if municipalities donate just of civic tax revenue to creating pop-up mootspaces where open, co-design can flourish?
What if we create an open source proposal at this conference‌that can be locally adapted by anyone, by any community?
GrĂ cies! Gracias! Thank you! Alastair Fuad-Luke Professor Emerging Design Practices Aalto ARTS, Helsinki
alastair.fuad-luke@aalto.fi Blog: http://window874.com Aalto University http://arts.aalto.fi/en NODUS, Sustainable Design Research group, http://designresearch.aalto.fi/groups/nodus/ Fuad-Luke http://www.fuad-luke.com