It’s time we started to seriously address the question: “What are we designing for?” We’ve realized that consumer culture is not the answer to that question, but are we willing to admit that designing for sustainability isn’t the answer either? If anything, the notion of sustainability is a MacGuffin that has become the new bright shiny target for designers to focus their passion and effort on.
A significant part of the problem is that the notion of sustainability lacks clarity and nuance and most of the over 1000 definitions of the term fail to address the complex biological and cultural needs of humanity. Sustainable is an adjective, not a future, and because of this we have have difficulty framing the opportunity beyond the obvious focus of “green”. We need a new approach to the discussion that clearly allows us to answer not just the “what” but also the “why” of our design actions.
This discussion will lead designers in a deeper evaluation of the question “What are we designing for?” and introduce the notion of the the “Subtle World” as one of the many futures we can design for. Building off of the Subtle World framework, the session will focus on creating a new level of conversation and debate for designers to help us work towards better answers and better perspectives on the value and role of design in our world.
The session leader is trained facilitator with background in Environmental Studies who will build off of academic work they have published on this topic to create an engaging and well structured dialog for session participants.
Biography
Matthew is a designer who likes to get his hands dirty in as many places as possible. Currently this means a mix of interaction design, service design and experience strategy, but in the past he’s designed everything from spatial technology to ski hills.
He is currently a Partner at Normative, a Toronto-based design strategy studio that helps companies make their products, services and experiences relevant and valuable in an increasingly complex world. Over the last ten years, Matthew has lead large design and strategy teams, slept under his desk at successful startups and tried most of the things he’s been told he couldn’t or shouldn’t.
A graduate of York University’s transdisciplinary Master in Environmental Studies program, Matthew’s ongoing research focus has been the transposition of environmental planning tools like Backcasting and Cumulative Effects Assessment into the virtual environments of the web. In his free time, he obsesses over soft systems theory, maneuver warfare strategy, emerging urban technologies and the notion of the hacker family.
Discussions
Designing for the Subtle World
Session Title
Designing for the Subtle World
Presenter
Matthew Milan, Normative
Session Type: Discussion
It’s time we started to seriously address the question: “What are we designing for?” We’ve realized that consumer culture is not the answer to that question, but are we willing to admit that designing for sustainability isn’t the answer either? If anything, the notion of sustainability is a MacGuffin that has become the new bright shiny target for designers to focus their passion and effort on.
A significant part of the problem is that the notion of sustainability lacks clarity and nuance and most of the over 1000 definitions of the term fail to address the complex biological and cultural needs of humanity. Sustainable is an adjective, not a future, and because of this we have have difficulty framing the opportunity beyond the obvious focus of “green”. We need a new approach to the discussion that clearly allows us to answer not just the “what” but also the “why” of our design actions.
This discussion will lead designers in a deeper evaluation of the question “What are we designing for?” and introduce the notion of the the “Subtle World” as one of the many futures we can design for. Building off of the Subtle World framework, the session will focus on creating a new level of conversation and debate for designers to help us work towards better answers and better perspectives on the value and role of design in our world.
The session leader is trained facilitator with background in Environmental Studies who will build off of academic work they have published on this topic to create an engaging and well structured dialog for session participants.
Biography
Matthew is a designer who likes to get his hands dirty in as many places as possible. Currently this means a mix of interaction design, service design and experience strategy, but in the past he’s designed everything from spatial technology to ski hills.
He is currently a Partner at Normative, a Toronto-based design strategy studio that helps companies make their products, services and experiences relevant and valuable in an increasingly complex world. Over the last ten years, Matthew has lead large design and strategy teams, slept under his desk at successful startups and tried most of the things he’s been told he couldn’t or shouldn’t.
A graduate of York University’s transdisciplinary Master in Environmental Studies program, Matthew’s ongoing research focus has been the transposition of environmental planning tools like Backcasting and Cumulative Effects Assessment into the virtual environments of the web. In his free time, he obsesses over soft systems theory, maneuver warfare strategy, emerging urban technologies and the notion of the hacker family.