Sine Celik, Cecilia Landa-Avila, and Palak Dudani
Expanding its reach almost unanimously as the solution to societal issues throughout the years, systemic design is now embodied as design’s “right answer” to the ever-growing complexity of the world’s grand challenges. Consequently, the landscape of design is teeming not only with methods but also with a surge in educational offerings. While many of these initiatives genuinely embody systems principles, theories, and ethical considerations, others merely ride the wave of hype without embracing genuine responsibility. Amid this surge, systemic designers and systems thinkers find themselves at a crucial time. It is time to advocate for the responsible development of the field of systemic design, preventing the discipline from devolving into a mere tokenistic and trendy approach that perpetuates harmful design developments. In this interactive, we aim to exchange ideas on the ongoing evolution of systemic design both as a field of research and practice, discuss its interaction with other domains and envision the potential risks and opportunities in a speculative manner using a fishbowl conversation format.
KEYWORDS: systemic design, design practice, systems thinking
RSD TOPIC(S): Cases & Practice, Learning & Education, Methods & Methodology