Design Activism: Designers With A Sense of Social Responsibility

The aim of this essay is to explore and discuss design activism as a medium by which contemporary designers undertake projects based on their ethical concerns and a sense of social responsibility. Thorpe (2011, p.6) defines design activism as meeting four basic criteria; It publicly reveals or frames a problem or challenging issue. It makes …

Design For Nature – Caption

When it comes to backyards it doesn't get much better than seeing this on your doorstep. In Rambunctious Garden Marris explains that nature comes with a preconceived notion that a wholesome environment is somewhere far away - like that which would be seen on a post card or documentary. How easy this point is to understand …

Cradle to Cradle Thinking

(Source: Wallace Detroit Guitars, 2016, http://wallacedetroitguitars.com/) Wallace Detroit Guitars is one of the most incredibly beautiful, and yet somehow still topically relevant, examples of design I have come across since starting my studies. As a guitarist who has always been partial to a telecaster there is something about this all natural finish and handcrafted piece of work that …

Design for a Sustainable Future

"The thoughtful designer of the twenty·first century will design with integrity, sensitivity and compassion. He/she will design products/materials/service products that are sustainable, I.e, they serve human needs without depleting natural and manmade resources, without damage to the carrying capacity of ecosystems and without restricting the options available for present and future generations." (Fuad-Luke, 2002, p.15) …

Going, Going, Gondry – Further exploration of the Auteur

The Auteur theory is one which I have done some research on before - if you are interested in some light reading feel free to immerse yourselves in Pulp Fact-ion: An Exploration of the Auteur Theory (Starring Quentin Tarantino) (Colvin 2016) - which filled me with optimism when I learnt of this task. Furthering my excitement then was the …

Journal Research

For the final assessment task (Assessment 3: Issue Essay), having found myself enthralled by the Defining design as activism (Thorpe 2011) reading decided to explore and explain how recent design projects have utilised design activism to respond to one or more contemporary social problems. Given the broad nature of the topic - and how relatively little exposure I have …

Graphic Identity – Where did you come from?

Life's greatest questions have always been; Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? When it comes to the second where we come from makes up a huge portion of our identity and, like us, where we come from has an identity of its own to maintain. It is for this …

Design Activism – Make something make something do something

In its simplest form activism can - and quite often does- appear around us daily. Why then is it, by definition at least, so difficult to properly identify? This was the question that Defining Design as Activism (Thorpe 2011) aimed to answer (with regards to design activism at least - which is where we go from here). …