design and sustainability

Sustainability is an essential attribute of desirable change in people’s lives. Change and sustainability are intractably intertwined. People do not want to live ‘naturally’. The want to live healthier, safer and more full lives than would be given to them ‘naturally’. Humans inevitably bring change to the world but such change can be either sustainable or unsustainable depending on how it is designed. Stopping humans from being human and desiring a better life is not a sustainable strategy. Thoughtless or self-centered change is equally not sustainable. On the other hand, change brought about by careful and responsible designing is sustainable. Good design depends on the exercise of several necessary competencies—of which one is ‘sustainability’. Sustainability cannot be exercised without being systemically integrated with all of the other design competencies at the same time—which is the only way design can be sustainable and sustainability can be sustained.

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Center for Systemic Design draft prospectus

PROSPECTUS Center for Advanced Systemic Designing Introduction Our futures can be approached in four ways: 1) drifting—adapting to whatever happens, 2) colliding—reacting and enduring, 3) retreating—backing away from undesirable states or conditions, or 4) advancing—navigating into desirable states-of-affairs. The norm nowadays is to drift, collide or retreat into the future. The fourth approach, the proactive approach, is the more apt response given the complex challenges and rising expectations that are the new norm for the foreseeable future. The fourth approach depends on the agency of individuals who have the capacity to handle the challenge of securing desired outcomes in indeterminate situations on behalf of concomitant stakeholders and clients. They achieve this by serving—design agency—as members of design teams and design cohorts. These systemic designers are skilled polymaths who have the ability to create assemblies of essential elements into coherent whole system

Design, Wicked Problems & Throwness

Horst Rittel is one of the seminal residents in my 'Berkeley Bubble'. Recently a friend and colleague sent me an article about ‘double-wickedproblems’ . I have become ever more aware of the increasing number of references to ‘wicked problems’ in all forms of media that seem to have missed Rittel’s deeper insights . This brought up the concern I have about the use and miss-use of the term ‘wicked problem’. The term ‘wicked problem’, first introduced by Rittel in West Churchman’s seminars at Berkeley, was in reference to his conceptualization of the impossible challenge of dealing with significant social issues using traditional, rational, ‘problem solving’ methods. In most cases what are miss-diangnosed as ‘wicked problems’ are actually complex or complicated problems that can be simplified or broken into smaller 'tame' problems allowing for a straight forward 'problem solving' approach to be taken. This approach is believed by many to be capable

'sketch-note feedback' from keynote

This is a sketch-note done of a recent keynote of mine. It is an invaluable form of feedback for a presenter. It shows what someone else heard from the presentation, how topics were related and what concepts were foreground and what were background — all from the perspective of an attentive listener. This is an invaluable service. Much more valuable than just a transcript of critical reviews. The sketch-note author in this instance is Manisha Laroia — Thank you Manisha.

Accidental Vagrant

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