I teach on the MA Biodesign course at Central Saint Martins, Biodesign is an emerging field combining design with biology and science, where designers learn how to collaborate with living organisms to develop sustainable and novel ways of making (MA Biodesign, 2022).
I am inspired by the ways practitioners are teaching Biodesign and design today, but I struggle to bring in more critical, inclusive and social justice orientated resources into my own teaching practise. For example in the biodesign class Deepa Butoliya teaches at the Stamps School of Art and Design, Butoliya brings in her research on critical jugaad as a valid alternative to western narratives of design, the critical jugaad approach introduces DIY making processes of those in marginalised communities who create for necessity to overcome hardships (Atzmon, L, 2023).
Lesley-Ann Noel and Marcelo Paiva in their research on recognising exclusion bring in tools to promote inclusive mindsets, such as card decks to introduce critical theory to designers or worksheets to challenge designers around issues they may face in the future from lifestyle changes to disabilities they could develop as they age (Noel, L-A & Paiva, M, 2021).
My intervention idea is to find small ways to encourage students or staff on my team to seek out alternative forms of knowledge and expertise. Allowing them to consider non-western perspectives to decolonise design (Abdulla, D, 2024) as well as consider inclusive experiences and viewpoints. As a mixed race white and South East Asian designer who was taught and practised design in western contexts, I still have a lot to uncover and learn when diversifying my references (Selvagem, 2018).
The intervention could take the form of different engagement activities, like prompt cards or physical artefacts to draw inspiration from, that may help in student facing workshops around ideation. To a growing map of collaborators made up of experts in different communities (indigenous, ancestral, scientific, design etc) (Bandoni, A, 2023). That could be shared and added to by different year groups.
Potential References:
Abdulla, D. (2024) – Danah Abdulla, Decolonization & Design Lesson Plan. Available at: https://www.dabdulla.com/Decolonization-Design-Lesson-Plan (Accessed: 25 May 2024).
Atzmon, L (ed.) 2023, Design and Science, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, London. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [27 May 2024]. Created from ual on 2024-05-27 19:07:57.
Bandoni, A. (2023) ‘Collaborating with an Amazonian Tree: A bio-product design experiment with ancestral references’, IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design [Preprint]. doi:10.21606/iasdr.2023.156.
Kaufmann-Buhler, J., Pass, V. and Wilson, C.S. (2019) Design history beyond the canon. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
MA Biodesign(2022) What We Do [Online]. Available at: https://mabiodesign.com/
Noel, L-A. and Paiva, M. (2021) ‘Learning to Recognize Exclusion.’, Journal of Usability Studies, Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp. 63–72. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349642679_Learning_to_Recognize_Exclusion (Accessed: 27 May 2024)
Schon, D. A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.
Selvagem (2018) WILD ARROW, Selvagem. Available at: https://selvagemciclo.com.br/en/flecha/ (Accessed: 28 May 2024).