designing utopia – designers as catalysts for transformation...designing utopia – designers as...

DesigningUtopia–DesignersasCatalystsforTransformationTomBieling

Itissaidthatif3.5%ofthepopulation,acrossallclasses,arepreparedtochange

substantialaspectsoftheirwayoflife,thiswillsetinmotionaprofoundchange

insociety.3.5%,thatdoesn'tsoundsomuch.Andthequestioninevitablyarises

astowhetheroneactually(already)belongstoit.Itisalltooclearthatinmany

respects it is now time to act. ThisNow is both a challenge and an excessive

demand, itsometimesputsus inastateofshockofhelplessness, inviewofthe

dailyunsolvable,fromchanginglabormarketstosocialinequality,fromTrumpto

climatecrisis(cf.WeiSraum2019).

Buthowcanthepressuretoact,whichtheconditionsinevitablyimposeonus,

becomeapositivecallfordeparture,aprotestagainstandvisionsforsomething?

And in the best case scenario,make uswant new utopias?What shape dowe

wanttogivetothefuture?Howcanwecreatetheworldinsteadofconsumingit?

And-howpoliticalcan,shouldormustdesignbe?Especially in times inwhich

complexityoftenseemsoverwhelmingontheonehand,and,asKrisKroisstates,

(false) simplification, fear and superficiality in hyper-acceleratedmedia on the

other,threatendemocracy?

DESIGNABILITIESDesignResearchJournal(05)2019(ISSN2511-6274)www.designforschung.org

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QuestionsliketheseareatthecentreofmyteachingforTransformationDesign

at the new design university (ndu) in St. Pölten, where the aim is to develop

conceptsforsustainable,resilient,inclusiveandsociallyequitableprocessesand,

at thesame time, tomake themaccessible, comprehensibleandexperienceable

(as prototypes or ‘real products’). For example,when it comes to how an eco-

socialchangecansucceedwithregardtolocalpotentialsandtheirdevelopment

inagloballynetworkedworld.

For behind the visible things that surround us there is an invisible, social

dimension(cf.Burckhardt2012),andweareinevitablyinvolvedinshapingthis,

too-whetherconsciouslyorunconsciously.Thus,wehaveamirrorsituation:On

the one hand, we have an effect on the environment. On the other hand, the

changed environment has an effect on us. Here, too, reciprocal processes of

transformationcanbeidentified.

TransformationDesignfocusesonrecentsocialdevelopmentstowardsamore

sustainable, socially fair and inclusive way of life, work and production. It

questions both the consumption and production patterns of late-capitalist

growthsocietiesfromacultural,social,technologicalandecologicalpointofview

and initiates corresponding processes of change from the perspective of

consumers or users. Transformation Design thus describes the search for new

waysofchangingbehaviourandthusprovokingachangeinsocietyonthebasis

ofnewformsofdesigndiscourseanddesignpractice.

Itshowsakindofparadigmshift:awayfromauser-(orworse:aconsumer-)

orienteddesigntowardsasociety-centereddesign.Designersplayacentralrole

here, not least mediating between different stakeholders. But what exactly is

beingtransformed?Andbywhom?Whoparticipatesintheassociatedprocesses?

Whoisexcludedandwhy?Whatdoes"social","sustainable"and"political"mean

in this context? Andwhat does all this have to dowith design? Togetherwith

NDUstudents,thishasbeenexploredtheoreticallyandpractically.

When considering transformations in societies, it is first possible to identify

overriding topics such as technology, politics, social issues, economics and

ecology.ChiaraWelter1pointsout,however,thattheconcreteproblemareascan

hardly be categorized by these abstract concepts. Rather, the transformation

design - understood as a form of reflection on social change - can reveal the

multiple interrelationships and dependencies of our reality(s). For example, a

transformation in the economic system through crypto currency can hardly be

1 c.f. her paper on Defensive Architecture in our upcoming issue.


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conceivedwithout the technological requirements and changes or the political

aspectsofthedemocratizationofpaymentsystems.Furtherecologicalandsocial

impactscanbethoughtofthatwouldbereflectedinthisexample.

Stadtfüralle?Participationdoesnotbecomelesswhenyoushareit.IsViennareallyaCityforAll?ChiaraWelterhasherdoubtsaboutitandwroteanOpenLetter to the city (soon to be published here). (Key Visual of the Project„MariahilferStraßeneu!DerProzesszurUmgestaltungundNeuorganisation.“©2015MagistratderStadtWien)

Itisinevitablethatdesignisorientedtowardsacertaincanonofvalues.Sucha

value-orienteddesignhasthepotentialforchange,whichseesitselfpreciselynot

as the executive branch of marketing (cf. Koop 2019), but as a motor for

transformationprocesses. Forutopia, as an idealized counter-image towhat is,

can be a strong motor for change. Positive perspectives are becoming

increasingly important as a counterpoint to the flood of bad news and

manipulativelyuseddystopias.Thecontributionofdesignerscanbetovisualize

analternativeworldandtomakethethoughtexperimentsofutopiastangible.


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top:Turningthebadhabitof ‘throwingaway’, intoa ‘creativeact’:Thesecigarettebuttscontainplantseeds,soyoucanactuallythrowthemawaylike little seed-bombs. “We don‘t smoke, we plant!” – ZIGGISEEDS byAlexander Guschelbauer, Gregor Sabitzer and Victoria Bersch.middle:Transforming Gender: Awareness campaign on menstruation issues byLucaHierzenbergerandHelenaZobl.down:Withtheir“Omnication”App,Bernd Reichl and Bernd Schallagruper are intended to create a barrier-free, universal form of communication. People, regardless of theireducational level, origin, age, gender and culture, should have theopportunitytoexchangeinformationquickly,easilyandcomprehensibly.


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Immortalorinhuman?Bytheimmeasurablestrivingforimmortalitymankindexceedsthelawofnatureandtriestoignorethefinitenessoflife.Newachievementssuchasmicrochipimplantsenableinteractionwithtechnicaldevices.Nowweareinastateofupheavalinwhichsupposedsciencefictionisbecomingreality.Arewegoingtobeimmortalbybecominginhuman?QuestionraisedbyAnnaLederleitner,PhilipHuterundKimberlyWaechter


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"Utopiasneed time, opportunities, the courage to experimentwith thoughts, to

try them out, to be creative, to be playful, even to be mistaken. Utopias must

remain open," says cultural scientist ThomasMacho (2017). 500 years ago the

English statesman and diplomat Sir Thomas More invented a new word by

describing the distant, ideal society "Utopia" (and by theway created aworld

classicinthefieldofsocialphilosophy):literallytranslatedas"non-place",inthe

figurativesenseitiswhatisnot,butshouldbe.

Sincethen,utopiashavehadtheirhighandlowphases,theyhavebeenabused

asideologiesandtodayareoftenreplacedbya"pragmatismwithoutalternative"

- and yet they are experiencing a revival. Current utopias want to counter

complexproblems,whicharemainlymetwithfearandexcessivedemands,with

positiveoptionsforaction.Thus,everydayutopias(cf.Bieling2020)areleftover

fromthelarge-scaleutopiasofthepast,whose"couragetofantasy"andcreative

approaches to action are intended to bring about a large-scale change in

consciousness.Creative-artisticdisciplinesbecomeanopenfieldforexperiments

withtheclaimtogiveutopianthoughtsaconcreteplaceandaconcreteform.(cf.

WeiSraum2019,17).

In urban contexts this can often be localized in public urban space. A space

thatcontinuestobethevenueforprotestsandthatiscurrentlyinanincreasing

hybridizationwithvirtualspace,whichinturnbringswithititsownmechanisms

fordisseminating informationandat the same timeadoptspracticedstrategies

andviewinghabits.

Protest,resistanceandpoliticalagitationarecentrallyrelatedtothepowerof

(notifrequentlyvisual)messages(cf.Bieling2019).Theylivefromsymbolsand

strongimagesthatconfront,appealandchallengeustoconfront.Fromresistance

towar, poverty, human rights, feminism and climate protection, to theOccupy

movement,theArabSpring,criticismofglobalisationandconsumption-subjects

havealwaysbeendeveloped to formulate resistance thathavesometimesbeen

deeplyimprintedinourcollectivememory.

Designanditsconceptual,functional,aesthetic,speculativeandinterventional

concepts can assert an oppositional public sphere (c.f.Hoffmann2014, 184), it

can actively interfere in common definitions, understandings and opinion

making, and it can create effective outrage through critical, alternative and

interrogativeconcepts,thoughts,andprototypes.

Here,itbecomesobvioushowmany(different)actorshavetositatthesame

table inorder to reallybeable to takeactionagainst themultiple crisesofour

time. Plus: It is not about style, not about typology, but about the general


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approach and attitude. The grassroots movement alone is not enough; new

alliances are needed. Bottom-up and top-down must cross. Municipal

governments,non-profitcompaniesandNGOsmustworktogetherwithcitizens'

initiativesandactivists.

DesignasCareforSkills(CriticalCare/ArchitekturzentrumWien.Foto:TomBieling)

Self-evidently, thedesignofproducts, technologies, services,systems,virtual

worldsandtangibleobjectsalways implicitly transmitsrolemodelsandvalues.

Design and the images it disseminates, often unreflectively, are hence

unavoidablypolitical.Thereisnodoubtthatthescopeofactionfordesignersalso


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involves increasing awareness of the sociopolitical dimension of their design

activities, in particularwhen it is a question of recognizing the power of their

designstoexclude(orinclude),andofcriticallyinterrogatingthispower(Bieling

2019a).

Thus, undoubtedly this is what design can do. It can “reconnect the

disconnectedandmakenewconnections.[It]canchallengetheunderlying,implicit

ethicsoftheexplicitformswecreate.[…It…]candisturbcurrentnarratives.[It]can

rupture the present with counter-narratives 2 [and] contribute to reformist

approaches.Ithastheabilitytocatalysesocietaltransformations.Designiscritical

imagining.” (Fuad-Luke 2009, XXI). It can communicate, make understandable

and is able to develop ideas and alternatives, and last but not least release

positiveenergies.Energiesthatcanhelptoopenyourmouth.

Andwhen3.5%opentheirmouths,itcouldgetprettyloud.

TomBieling,Mai2019

References

Bieling,Tom(Ed.)(2019):Design(&)Activism–PerspectivesonDesignasActivismandActivismasDesign.MimesisInternational,Milano.

Bieling,Tom(2019a):InklusionalsEntwurf.TeilhabeorientierteForschunguber,furunddurchDesign.B.I.R.D.–BoardofInternationalResearchinDesign.Birkhauser:Basel.

Bieling,Tom(2020):DesignandthePoliticsoftheEveryday.In:MichaelErlhoff&MaziarRezai(Ed.):DesignandDemocracy:NewCriticalPerspectives.Birkhäuser,Basel.

Burckhardt,Lucius(2012):Designistunsichtbar:Entwurf,GesellschaftundPädagogik.Schmitz,Berlin.

Fitz,Angelika&Krasny,Elke(Ed.):CriticalCare:ArchitectureandUrbanismforaBrokenPlanet.MITPress.

2 These counter-narratives might be a starting point to give rise to counterpublics (c.f. Michaelsen 2014, 394) and finally what Tim Gee describes as counterpower (Gee 2011). It can also foster the beginnings of a “counter-hegemony”, too, that is “the critical questioning of dominant norms as well as the formation of alternative political ideas and communal solidarity within civil society.” (c.f. Michaelsen 2014, 395)


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Fuad-Luke,Alastair(2009):DesignActivism:BeautifulStrangenessforaSustainableWorld.CSIRO,Routledge.

Gee,Tim(2011):Counterpower:MakingChangeHappen.London:WorldChanging;EditionUnstatededition.

Hoffmann,Anke(2014):TacticsofAppropriatingReality.In:DominikLandwehr(Hg.):PoliticalInterventions;EditionDigitalCulture1,ChristophMerianVerlag,Basel,176–185

Koop,Andreas(2019):Schönundgut.Birkhäuser,Basel.

Macho,Thomas(2017):WennmanAngsthat,verliertsichderMutzurFantasie.In:PsychologieHeute,4/2017,S.44.

Michaelsen,Marcus(2014):Beyondthe‘TwitterRevolution’:DigitalMediaandPoliticalChangeinIran.In:PeterWeibel(Ed.):GlobalActivism–ArtandConflictinthe21stCentury.ZKMKarlsruhe/MITPress,Cambridge,MA/London,England,384–395.

Weisraum(2019):Designforum,Tirol.

„Critical Care –Architecture and urbanism for a broken planet(Fitz/Krasny2019).TheExhibitionatArchitekturzentrumWientriggeredsome lively discussions amongst the student group (All Photos: TomBieling).


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TransformersonafieldtripinVienna.

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CitationInformation:

Bieling, Tom (2019): Designing Utopia – Designers as Catalysts for Transformation. In:

DESIGNABILITIES Design Research Journal, (05) 2019. https://tinyurl.com/yyosmwn7

ISSN2511-6274

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