Life-centred Design Lab’s Post

3 problems with our design and business that may contribute to climate and social issues... and 5 life-centred design super-powers to start fixing them!

Imagine a world - that starts today - where these principles are practiced by everyone engaged in designing for the world: Regenerative practices aim to enhance and restore the natural capacity of ecosystems and the intricate web of life. They go beyond mere sustainability by actively contributing to ecological, social, and cultural systems in ways that expand their resilience and capacity to thrive. Regenerative design is a holistic, ethical, and participatory approach that 🪲 Supports natural flows and long-term systemic change across the entire lifecycle of a design. 🪲 Creates positive ecosystem impacts by integrating "more-than-human" stakeholders (e.g., animals, plants, fungi). 🪲 Resonates with natural patterns and rhythms, challenging extractivist and human-centered approaches. 🪲 Fosters mutual flourishing between human and non-human entities, prioritizing diversity and distributed agency. 🪲 Expands the design role from problem-solving to shaping just and ecologically balanced futures. Thank you to Henrik Lübker and Lotte Nystrup Lund for this - and for all the people who have been contributing to it. I look forward to testing these ideas in the coming months - and reporting back on our experiences!

Design needs to do more than serve us. It needs to heal. It needs to regenerate. 🌍 That is why Lotte Nystrup Lund and I have curated The Regenerative Design Manifesto - a first step toward shifting design’s direction and mindset. We call on designers everywhere to abandon outdated, human-centred approaches and embrace a new way of designing that prioritizes the interconnectedness of all life on Earth and acknowledges more-than-human agency. The Regenerative mind-shift in headlines: 1. We design as a service for something greater than ourselves 2. We design for friction and a renewed engagement with the world 3. We design for interdependence and mutual flourishing 4. We expand design beyond mere appearance and problem-solving 5. We design new narratives embracing more-than-human perspectives The manifesto emerged from a workshop at Design Matters 2024 in Copenhagen, where more than 100 designers joined forces to reimagine design in the age of climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Please dive in and take a moment to reflect on how this shift in direction could influence your own design work. I also hope to gather examples of regenerative design in practice in the coming time to create an inspiring best-practice guide to accompany the manifesto. If you have any good examples, please send them to me. It’s not just time. It’s long overdue. I hope you’ll join me in the mission.

“You don’t need inspiration, you need a challenge” Last week at “Futuro Sur” a conference designed by Diseño ITESO, I took a workshop about Sustainable Design with Bernardo Torres from Uncommon - Consultora de Estrategia e Innovación, and he started with this uncomfortable question. - If you close your eyes and try to imagine what are the products (tangible or intangible) you’ll designed over the next 25 years that contributed worsen the world climate crisis. What will you see? - Thanks Bernardo for giving us a new challenge, for making us feel uncomfortable with our actual design practice and for sharing with us the opportunity to question how can we impact the world with our decisions. And thanks Diseño ITESO for creating this space to interact, share and question us as designers.

It is increasingly clear that great design—from the past, for today, and in the future—is sustainable. Innovative use of recycled materials, development of energy-efficient digital solutions, and adoption of circular design principles. Circular design—designing from inception for reuse, repair, and recyclability—is particularly exciting as technical know-how, practical support systems, and human willingness continue to expand. I encourage designers, creators, business, and community leaders to see this as an opportunity, as an opening for new innovation; this is our moment to start thinking differently about how we apply emerging technology, leverage ancient craft, apply common sense, and bring education into the conversation so everyone benefits from the design decisions we make. Fast Company by Lisa Gralnek #EmergingTech #design #innovation https://lnkd.in/ebqxTRS4

🌟 Thank you to everyone who has already participated in the sustainability in design teams survey! 🌿 If you haven’t had a chance yet, there’s still time to contribute your valuable insights! We're already seeing some fascinating trends on how design teams are approaching sustainability, but we need more voices to create a comprehensive picture. Your input can drive meaningful change and highlight best practices for integrating sustainability into the design process. 💡 Join the conversation by completing the survey here: https://lnkd.in/ejKaNehs Let’s work together to create a future where sustainability is at the heart of design! #SustainableDesign #EcoDesign #DesignTeams #GreenDesign #Survey #Sustainability

Design for Sustainability We must adopt a novel design methodology better suited for creating a more sustainable world.The goal is to foster a sustainable design culture that prioritizes the well-being of both individuals and the environment. This book delves into this new design methodology, which goes beyond design and embraces a purpose-driven approach. https://lnkd.in/eFe39YEe The Stanford d.school Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability MIT Sloan School of Management Massachusetts Institute of Technology Harvard Business School Design Council IBM IDEO IDEO U Hasso Plattner Institute Hasso Plattner Institute NYC EU Science, Research and Innovation Delft University of Technology Eindhoven University of Technology Design Academy Eindhoven Dubai Design Lab UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design Product Design

Can design can make a difference in creating a more kind and inclusive world? In my latest article https://lnkd.in/gEgv2J3v I write about a new kind of design, "Kind Design" introducing a new paradigm that goes beyond traditional user-centered design. Inspired by International Design Day and the legacy of humanitarian designer Rob L. Peters, which emphasises the importance of care and a proposes a new standard into the design practice — the kindness standard. Most of the post-contemporary world problems are also design problems on how products, services and processes are designed and require design thinking and a systemic design approach. It's an ethical approach that prioritizes the duty of care and the wellbeing of all stakeholders and not just financial profitability. At the heart of "Kind Design" is Don Norman's vision of humanity-centered design. A perspective that challenges designers to address complex, systemic issues and devise solutions that benefit the entire ecosystem through 5 fundamental principles and circular design - from raw material extraction and choice of materials, to product distribution and longevity that focuses on repair, reuse and regeneration and beyond. By embracing circular design principles and empowering communities to co-create, we can measure design by its positive impact on people, communities, and the environment and create a more sustainable, equitable, and participative future. Brands like Patagonia are leading the way, demonstrating that business success and environmental stewardship can go hand-in-hand. It's "design being design, in harmony with its fundamental purpose of solving problems and improving people's lives and the world" and leaving a legacy for new generations. Original article in portuguese at Público https://lnkd.in/gEgv2J3v #KindDesign #CircularDesign #HumanityCenteredDesign #Sustainability #Inclusivity #designforabetterworld #donnorman #designingforchildrensrights #DesignThinking #SystemDesign

🌿 Discussion Prompt: Sustainability in Product Design 🌿 As the urgency to address climate change grows, sustainability has become a crucial consideration in product design. Designers and companies are increasingly focusing on creating products that are not only functional and aesthetically pleasing but also environmentally friendly. Question: What are the most effective strategies for incorporating sustainability into product design without compromising on innovation or user experience? How can we ensure that sustainable practices become the norm rather than the exception in the industry? I encourage you to share your insights and experiences. Are there any specific sustainable design practices or materials you’ve found particularly effective? What challenges have you faced in trying to implement sustainable design principles, and how have you overcome them? Let's discuss how we can collectively push the boundaries of sustainable design. 🌱 #Sustainability #ProductDesign #Innovation #ClimateChange #EcoFriendly #DesignThinking #SustainableDesign #GreenTech #UserExperience

In the realm of #creativity, the terms "green" and "sustainable design" often dance together, but do you know their subtle yet impactful differences? Dive into this insightful article as we unravel what truly makes something green and what elevates it to #sustainable status here- https://lnkd.in/git_BTw3 (P.C.- Thom Sevalrud) #GreenDesign #SustainableCreativity