Design never had a very clear ‘origin story’. There is no Lascaux paintings to point to in design. A number of different people, communities and institutions helped build a local definition of design in a number of industrial nations in the 1800s. While doing some research at the British Library for the second edition of… Continue reading Where does design come from?
Category: Education
What to expect (when you’re graduating)
So you’re graduating from a design course this summer? Well done you. Also, welcome to the madness. It’s been a quietly devastating recession and most of my very talented and employable friends are struggling to find work. All the non profits I work with have have suffered from months of funding rejections and unresponsive funders.… Continue reading What to expect (when you’re graduating)
Repairable by design?
I’ve been a trustee of The Restart Project, a right to repair charity, for almost a year. They are focused on raising political awareness of the need for right to repair legislation in the UK and Europe and have been doing a fantastic job over the past 6 years. It’s an honour to meet with… Continue reading Repairable by design?
Is climate change mitigation a life skill?
I was having a conversation about climate change literacy with Luke & Michelle this week I thought I’d capture to celebrate New Year’s Eve (and forget for a second about Brexit). As the first instance of LoCDI had to be pushed into next year (and frankly it might be pushed into the year after based… Continue reading Is climate change mitigation a life skill?
How to Climate Change in a (different kind of) crisis.
(I recently started working part time at Library of Things and became a Trustee for The Restart Project so there’s a lot of climate change things on my mind. This was meant to be a piece for a friend’s magazine but they wanted something else so here goes.) These are a series of vignettes, of… Continue reading How to Climate Change in a (different kind of) crisis.
Using Twitter when you’re creative
I think of Twitter as – 50% the comment section of local newspapers – 20% malicious content – 30% inspirational quotes, gifs and cultural references. I look for gold in that 30%. That’s why I stick around. — Alexandra D-S (@iotwatch) July 31, 2020 (Two men are grunting and shuffling about my apartment fixing a… Continue reading Using Twitter when you’re creative
Low Carbon Design Institute: ideas for a net zero compliant design education
It’s Christmas Eve, I’m reading the introduction to Ezio Manzini’s ‘Design, When Everybody Designs‘ and I just got angry again. Anger, for a 39 year old woman, is an incredibly useful tool. It’s the step that comes before action. Back in October, I wrote a little twitter rant about the idea of a Low Carbon… Continue reading Low Carbon Design Institute: ideas for a net zero compliant design education
So you’re about to graduate
(This is a follow-up to my blogpost as I’ve been invited to give one of the keynotes at the Umea Institute of Design’s Degree Show in Sweden next month.) So you’re about to graduate from an interaction design degree. Welcome to the rest of your life in the industry of design. Here are some harsh… Continue reading So you’re about to graduate
The case for small design schools
I haven’t put a lot of effort in blogging here recently so I thought I’d kick off with a January post and get back in the groove. I was invited by Francisco to come back to ITESM in Mexico City after leading a 3 day teacher training workshop last December. This time around I’m here to help… Continue reading The case for small design schools
The Inventor, the Designer and the Maker: 3 different ways of getting things done.
I’m giving a talk at the Centre of Fine Arts in Sydney today and last night worked on 3 ways of visualising the evolution of making in the past 10 years with the emmergence of Arduino and crowd funding particularly. I’m trying to work this into a small publication on the subject so really work… Continue reading The Inventor, the Designer and the Maker: 3 different ways of getting things done.