Abstract
My research started with two questions. An internal one - how do I see the world? And a professional facing one - how can a design or design process contribute to shifting contemporary dualist, human-centred perspectives derived from modernity to ones that are more relational, pluriversal, and ecological? My research is a personal journey, to ponder how it is that I have been tamed by modern society, to mark out how I have adapted to these constraints and to find alternative approaches to counter them. As a way to shift my own perspective and assumption of the design process, I have applied epistemic artefacts found in the modern world to my own process of different modes in design practices. Reflections at the end of each of these stages enabled me to identify my next steps. My early stages of research were developed through a cognitive design practice made up of actions for: Relating, Transposing, and Merging. In the second stage of my inquiry, I embraced an empirical design practice made of actions that were: Engaging and Embodying. Outcomes from my research trajectory show how flexibility and connectivity of my perspective and relationships can affect the process of designing artefacts and demonstrates how I sought out ways to negotiate and communicate with nature. My work, detailed in this paper, provides other designers provocative tactics to think about how we live and be with nature and concurrently contribute through our work as designers.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2022 Special Focus—Back to Life: Seeking Vision and Purpose in Principles and Practice
KEYWORDS
DESIGN PRACTICE; ECOLOGICAL THINKING; RELATIONAL DESIGN; OTHER-THAN HUMAN-CENTRED; ACTION-EXPLORATION-DRIVEN PRACTICE
