What if design embraced complexity by designing relationships and relationality itself?

ARC25 SIGHTLINES | SYSTEMIC DESIGN ASSOCIATION ADDRESS | OCTOBER 21, 2025

What relationship is not complex? This question, which may seem rhetorical, contains within itself a fundamental truth: every relationship that brings two or more elements into communication carries an inevitable dose of complexity. Moreover, this applies at all levels, from the intimate and personal to the systemic and global. When we think about the word ‘relationship’, we usually associate it with a romantic or interpersonal sphere: a couple, a friendship, a working relationship. However, the concept is much more comprehensive than that. A ‘relationship’ is any interaction between separate elements that share a joint space, for example, physical, emotional, symbolic, or systemic. From this perspective, particularly from a systemic point of view, every relationship is a system, and every system comprises interdependent elements that influence each other.

The complexity arises from each individual has a unique identity: values, experiences, expectations, and ideas. When two or more identities meet, dynamics of recognition, adaptation, and compromise come into play in the long run. It is not just a matter of ‘getting along’ or ‘communicating well’, but of finding a balance between respecting individuality and building a joint space capable of accommodating plurality. Relationships take shape in this dynamic space because it is precisely in continuous adaptation that relationality manifests itself: not something static or predetermined, but an evolutionary, living, and respectful process.

The transition from interpersonal relationships to relational systems is a key point. In an open system, each element exists in relation to the others. Similar to what happens in quantum mechanics, where reality emerges from the relationship with the observer, conscious observation is also a transformative act in human and social-technical systems, part of the system itself, and a generator of multiple meanings. In this sense, the systemic designer plays a specific role, acting as an observer at the intersection of the internal and external as well as subjectivity and system structure. They can read feedback, identify patterns, anticipate future scenarios, challenges and dysfunctions, thereby facilitating the system’s positive evolution and transition. The role of the designers is not to create ready-made solutions, but rather to establish relationships and the relational aspects that can develop, evolve, and express their full potential. In this sense, the term ‘design relationships’ signifies the shaping of the spaces, contexts, and dynamics that facilitate the emergence of connection, interaction, and mutual influence sustainably and inclusively.

The world is becoming more and more interconnected and interdependent. Various domains clearly show this growing interconnectedness and interdependence: for example, technology connects people and systems in real time; culture transcends borders and evolves through exchange; global markets and resources intertwine to form the world economy; and local actions create significant environmental consequences on a global scale. In this context, considering relationships has become an invaluable way of understanding complexity. Understanding relational complexity means reading and understanding invisible bonds, navigating uncertainty, and recognising that nothing exists in isolation, just as quantum physics states that reality does not exist in isolation; it unfolds through relationships. This concept allows us to move beyond linear and causal thinking to embrace a more circular and interactive way of thinking, in which every action produces effects that reverberate throughout the entire system.