African Design Futures


Book Description




Design and Futures


Book Description

"As Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon famously observed: ''Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.'' Designers and futurists, it turns out, have a great deal in common. This mutual recognition is reaching critical mass as each comes to appreciate how their respective traditions have much to offer to making urgent change in the world, and even more so, together." - From the Editors'' Introduction Design and Futures is a landmark collection of essays, manifestos and peer-reviewed articles, edited by Stuart Candy (Carnegie Mellon University) and Cher Potter (Victoria and Albert Museum), documenting ''design futures'' discourse and practice around the world. Originally appearing in back-to-back issues of the open access Journal of Futures Studies (Tamkang University Press, Taiwan), the present compilation preserves the original formatting while unifying all 30 pieces between covers for the first time. Topics range from worldbuilding and curriculum design to temporality and decolonisation, as well as new methods and processes that build on over a decade of experiential futures, speculative design and related practices. Design and Futures will be an essential reference for anyone working or studying in either field. Contributors * Danah ABDULLA (Brunel University, UK) * Ahmed ANSARI (Carnegie Mellon University, USA) * Paola ANTONELLI (Museum of Modern Art, USA) * Tina AUER (Time''s Up, Austria) * James AUGER (Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute, Portugal) * Nik BAERTEN (Pantopicon, Belgium) * Ralph BORLAND (Independent Artist and Curator, South Africa) * Tim BOYKETT (Time''s Up, Austria) * Anne BURDICK (Art Center College of Design, USA; University of Technology Sydney, Australia) * Stuart CANDY (Carnegie Mellon University, USA) * Ece CANLI (Independent Scholar, Portugal) * Kuo-Hua CHEN (Tamkang University, Taiwan) * David DELGADO (NASA JPL, USA) * Alida DRAUDT (Strategic Foresight Partners LLC, USA) * Jake DUNAGAN (Institute for the Future, USA) * Tony FRY (University of Tasmania, Australia) * Nik GAFFNEY (FoAM, Belgium) * JJ HADLEY (Slalom, USA) * Julian HANNA (Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute, Portugal) * Dan HILL (Vinnova, Sweden) * Jeanne HOFFMAN (Tamkang University, Taiwan) * Ryan HOGAN (Mozilla, USA) * Jamer HUNT (The New School, USA) * Anab JAIN (Superflux, UK; University of Applied Arts, Austria) * Mahmoud KESHAVARZ (Uppsala University, Sweden) * Matthew KIEM (Independent Scholar, Australia) * Lucy KIMBELL (University of the Arts London, UK) * Kelly KORNET (Kalypso, Canada) * Maja KUZMANOVIC (FoAM, Belgium) * Ramia MAZÉ (Aalto University, Finland) * Alex MCDOWELL (University of Southern California, USA) * Timothy MORTON (Rice University, USA) * Mugendi K. M''RITHAA (Independent Designer-Researcher, Kenya) * Leticia MURRAY (Gensler, USA) * Pedro OLIVEIRA (Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Germany) * Stefanie A. OLLENBURG (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) * DK OSSEO-ASARE (Pennsylvania State University, USA) * Karla PANIAGUA (CENTRO Advanced Design Institute, Mexico) * Cher POTTER (University of the Arts London; Victoria and Albert Museum, UK) * Luiza PRADO (MeetFactory, Czech Republic) * Aaron ROSA (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Germany) * Tristan SCHULTZ (Griffith University, Australia) * Gregory STOCK (Firefly, USA) * John A. SWEENEY (Narxoz University, Kazakhstan) * Maya VAN LEEMPUT (Erasmus University College, Belgium) * Julia Rose WEST (Ancestry, USA) * Lizzie YARINA (MIT Urban Risk Lab, USA) * Liam YOUNG (SCI-Arc, USA) * Leah ZAIDI (Independent Scholar, Canada)




The Black Experience in Design


Book Description

The Black Experience in Design spotlights teaching practices, research, stories, and conversations from a Black/African diasporic lens. Excluded from traditional design history and educational canons that heavily favor European modernist influences, the work and experiences of Black designers have been systematically overlooked in the profession for decades. However, given the national focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the aftermath of the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, educators, practitioners, and students now have the opportunity—as well as the social and political momentum—to make long-term, systemic changes in design education, research, and practice, reclaiming the contributions of Black designers in the process. The Black Experience in Design, an anthology centering a range of perspectives, spotlights teaching practices, research, stories, and conversations from a Black/African diasporic lens. Through the voices represented, this text exemplifies the inherently collaborative and multidisciplinary nature of design, providing access to ideas and topics for a variety of audiences, meeting people as they are and wherever they are in their knowledge about design. Ultimately, The Black Experience in Design serves as both inspiration and a catalyst for the next generation of creative minds tasked with imagining, shaping, and designing our future.




African Futures


Book Description

The essays in this collection are written to make readers (re)consider what is possible in Africa. The essays shake the tree of received wisdom and received categories, and hone in on the complexities of life under ecological and economic constraints. Yet, throughout this volume, people do not emerge as victims, but rather as inventors, engineers, scientists, planners, writers, artists, and activists, or as children, mothers, fathers, friends, or lovers – all as future-makers. It is precisely through agents such as these that Africa is futuring: rethinking, living, confronting, imagining, and relating in the light of its many emerging tomorrows.




Decolonising Design in Africa


Book Description

Decolonising Design in Africa offers a groundbreaking exploration of design education in Africa through a decolonial lens. By examining the colonial legacies that have shaped design education in Africa, it foregrounds the problematic ways that current pedagogical approaches primarily reflect western values and priorities. This book advocates for integrating Indigenous knowledge, cultural practices, and philosophies into contemporary African design education. It spans a wide geographical and temporal range, from historical analyses of colonial influences to envisioning decolonised African design futures. It delves into diverse aspects including spirituality in design, cultural symbolism, sustainable practices, and the ethical dimensions of decolonising design. Pioneering in its interdisciplinary approach, the book weaves together theoretical discussions, methodological innovations like storytelling, and practical strategies for curriculum reform. It presents inspiring case studies of designers and educators who are actively decolonising their practices. Decolonising Design in Africa is a vital resource for design educators, students, practitioners, and policymakers, not just in Africa but worldwide. It makes a compelling case for reimagining design education in a more inclusive, contextually relevant and socially conscious way. The book's ultimate aim is to cultivate a new generation of designers equipped to address the complex challenges of a decolonising world.




Insert Complicated Title Here


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“What's my DNA?” Virgil Abloh asks to an overflowing auditorium at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Abloh goes on to provide his audience with a “cheat code”—advice he wishes he had received as a student. He then unpacks a series of “shortcuts” for cultivating a “personal design language.” Trained as an architect and engineer, Abloh has translated the tools and techniques of his student days into the world of fashion, product design, and music. His label, Off-White, works in seeming contradictions, marrying streetwear with couture, collaborating with brands like Nike, Ikea, and the Red Cross; musicians like Lil Uzi Vert and Rihanna; and “mentors” like Rem Koolhaas. Impervious to hurdles (“They literally don't exist.”), Abloh takes us behind the scenes of his design process, sharing the essentials of editing, problem-solving, and storytelling. He paints a picture of his DNA, and then flips the question: What's your DNA? The Incidents is a series of publications based on events that occured at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design between 1936 and tomorrow. Edited by Jennifer Sigler and Leah Whitman-Salkin Copublished with the Harvard University Graduate School of Design




DESIGNING FUTURE STABILIZATION EFFORTS


Book Description

As the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan draws to an end, the ‘West’ is starting to take a hard look back at two decades of global stabilization efforts. The ‘lessons learned’ literature on these efforts is exploding. One of the dominant themes in this literature is the need to embed the specifically military toolkit into a much more comprehensive, integrated approach towards planning and executing. In this forward-looking report, HCSS goes a step further by focusing not on the operational but on the strategic level of decision-making. Today, this strategic layer is driven much more by domestic and international ‘politicking’ than by creative strategic thinking. This report advocates a new approach to strategic decision-making which we label ‘strategic design’. It summarizes and borrows some key insights from the ‘design thinking’ literature in the business and public management literature and applies those to the security challenges surrounding stabilization efforts. The report then illustrates this approach by developing and evaluating a few ‘design sketches’ for new capability elements that even a small force provider like The Netherlands could start developing. The report might be of interest to strategic planners and decision-makers on both the military and civilians side




The Future of Work in Africa


Book Description

The Future of Work in Africa focuses on the key themes of creating productive jobs and addressing the needs of those left behind. It highlights how global trends, especially the adoption of digital technologies, may change the nature of work in Sub-Saharan Africa by creating new opportunities and challenges. It argues that, contrary to global fears of worker displacement by new technologies, African countries can develop an inclusive future of work, with opportunities for lower-skilled workers. Harnessing these opportunities is, however, contingent on implementing policies and making productive investments in four main areas. These are enabling inclusive digital technologies; building human capital for a young, rapidly growing, and largely low-skilled labor force; increasing the productivity of informal workers and enterprises; and extending social protection coverage to mitigate the risks associated with disruptions to labor markets. This companion report to the World Bank’s World Development Report 2019 concludes with important policy questions that should guide future research, whose findings could lead to more inclusive growth for African nations.




African Futures


Book Description

Civil wars, corporate exploitation, AIDS, and Ebola—but also democracy, burgeoning cities, and unprecedented communication and mobility: the future of Africa has never been more uncertain. Indeed, that future is one of the most complex issues in contemporary anthropology, as evidenced by the incredible wealth of ideas offered in this landmark volume. A consortium comprised of some of the most important scholars of Africa today, this book surveys an intellectual landscape of opposed perspectives in order to think within the contradictions that characterize this central question: Where is Africa headed? The experts in this book address Africa’s future as it is embedded within various social and cultural forms emerging on the continent today: the reconfiguration of the urban, the efflorescence of signs and wonders and gospels of prosperity, the assorted techniques of legality and illegality, lotteries and Ponzi schemes, apocalyptic visions, a yearning for exile, and many other phenomena. Bringing together social, political, religious, and economic viewpoints, the book reveals not one but multiple prospects for the future of Africa. In doing so, it offers a pathbreaking model of pluralistic and open-ended thinking and a powerful tool for addressing the vexing uncertainties that underlie so many futures around the world.




Transforming the Future


Book Description

People are using the future to search for better ways to achieve sustainability, inclusiveness, prosperity, well-being and peace. In addition, the way the future is understood and used is changing in almost all domains, from social science to daily life. This book presents the results of significant research undertaken by UNESCO with a number of partners to detect and define the theory and practice of anticipation around the world today. It uses the concept of ‘Futures Literacy’ as a tool to define the understanding of anticipatory systems and processes – also known as the Discipline of Anticipation. This innovative title explores: • new topics such as Futures Literacy and the Discipline of Anticipation; • the evidence collected from over 30 Futures Literacy Laboratories and presented in 14 full case studies; • the need and opportunity for significant innovation in human decision-making systems. This book will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, policy-makers and students, as well as activists working on sustainability issues and innovation, future studies and anticipation studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351047999, has been made available under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO) license.