‘Designers are almost fake’. A conclusive definition of what designers are does not exist. So challenging us to consider the very core and boundaries of the designer’s role, Fumikazu Masuda, Professor in Industrial Design & Sustainable Projects at Tokyo Zokei University and President of Open House Inc., Japan, made a strong introduction at the session ‘Open Language: You Can Speak Design Too!
It made me think of Victor Papanek and his book Design for the Real World, where he claims, ‘There are professions more harmful than industrial design, but only a few of them.’ In his talk, Masuda describes how he together with students has built a house in the countryside where people in need of design can visit and discuss their dilemmas. After the session they return home and ‘do’ the design themselves. Who then is the designer? People have design abilities and make inventions independently of designers every day. So what should a designer do?
I am sure we all agree that we live in a critical time. Our resources are finite. Are we using them in the most sustainable way? The possibility of living a good life is very different depending on where you were born. Global inequality is huge. Therefore, there is plenty to be done – by designers and, of course, others too.
The project ’Open Home’ by HKDI DESIS Lab, presented at the Open Design Forum concerned homeless people in Hong Kong. Instead of discussing ways of getting rid of the problem of homelessness, this project focuses on how new ways of living could be implemented. So, one important role of designers
now and in the future could be to point out new ways of looking at society. Design implies in itself change in many ways, such as behaviour, attitudes, and even worldviews. It can challenge the status quo by asking simple
questions, or make comprehensive proposals.
For example, could it be possible to live in the in a park? In Sweden, for most part of the year, and most parts of the world, this would not be easily practical. However, in a country with a better climate it could be possible. You would not need to work as much as you do now to pay the rent – arguably there wouldn’t be any. Design could be one part in designing a system for park sharing, considering issues such as cooking, access to electricity, safety, This role of the designer is also to ask the significant paradigmatic question of how do we make society more change-friendly?
Design of course cannot be and isn’t the only part of changing the society. Other disciplines need to be involved, and there needs to be much more collaboration between design and other disciplines and functions in society, economics, politics…
The role of a designer has changed over time depending on the current focus and needs of our society and societies. For a long time, as modern society emerged in the West, design was predominantly used and seen as one part in the process of delivering new products for the industry. The recognition of new societal needs, as well as potentials of design, has brought collaborative design, speculative design, metadesign…Perhaps the most important shift is that to design together with people.
Several interesting research projects at the forum pointed this out.
‘Draw your home’, by HKDI DESIS Lab, was one project that showed possibilities for new designer
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roles. Collaborating with inhabitants to discuss their homes seems an obvious choice and the right way to get the knowledge of what is really needed. In this project, design students participated as facilitators and researchers. People have built their homes over time without architects and designers. Why should designers be involved? This project really shows the new designer roles, which are much more about eliciting insights about relationships, and empowering people to make their own choices, than controlling the built environment.
In ‘Making Futures’, Pelle Ehn, Founder of MEDEA and Professor at the School of Arts and Communication, Malmö University, Sweden, describes how innovation and design can start in people’s everyday activities. According to him the design approach should be participatory or collaborative, enabling users and consumers to act as producers and creators. In the Western world, more people have increasingly become richer, but are not getting happier. This is tragic. We exist all of us in a system that does not work if we don’t see the quantity of belongings as the key for a good life. How do we invent a truly good life? How can a designer take part in such work?
A genuinely open society involves all people and honours, and inspires their ability to bring and share ideas of what society should be like. Yanki Lee, and her fabulous team at the HKDI DESIS Lab, gathered us because they believe we need more creative dialogues to create better futures. The Open Design Forum was an inspiring format focusing on participation where we (educators, researchers, students, collaborators) could all share our ideas. Participation in a true dialogue is demanding, as we all need to take a stance and also be willing to reconsider this stance in the meeting with
others. This will probably be the most important design skill in the future. To be a creative partner, the designer must have ideas, listen to others, and be able to visualize the ideas in the discussion of sustainable futures where everyone is invited.