Open Access, Interactive Sessions
Last Friday of each month | January through May, 2026 | 14:00 EST
Building on the success of Elon University’s annual Design Forge, and in partnership with the Future of Design in Higher Education, Forging Fridays is a virtual workshop series that provides space to meet and learn directly from acclaimed relational designers.
Beginning this January, get ready to:
- Explore and test emerging relational design strategies in community
- Strategise how they might enhance your practice
- Be inquisitive and share knowledge
Together, let’s explore how we might integrate key design strategies to enact plural ways of being and cultivate social change.
Have questions? Reach out at elonbydesign@elon.edu | More information
DESIGN FORGE WORKSHOPS 2026
January 30: From Slippages to Portals: A laboratory for practising and implementing relationality with Michal Osterweil
In this session, co-author of Relationality: An Emergent Politics of Life Beyond the Human will dive deeper into the possibilities and limitations of applying the 2024 book’s framework and principles of relationality. Attendees will explore how they can implement the five principles of relational politics (contingency, emergence, radical uncertainty, non-normativity, and heart-based epistemology) and dig into the concept of “slippages” with an eye towards recognising how “slippages” can become portals.
February 27: Designing the worlds that we need right now! Our collective responsibility to create social change with Lesley-Ann Noel
In this session, Lesley-Ann Noel, Dean of Design at OCAD University, will share key concepts and frameworks from the book, Design Social Change: Take Action, Work Toward Equity, and Challenge the Status Quo. Attendees will examine practical strategies for integrating social impact into their creative practice and leadership.
March 27: Everyday Emergence: Practising pluralism in uncertain times with Haley Fitzpatrick
This session invites participants to build a pluralistic awareness of their own relational field, or how the systems, places, ideas, and multi-species communities interact and shape their daily lives. Exploring the practice of creating a simple experimental prototype, we will spark imagination around strengthening trust in emergence through presence in relationships and trust in your own capacity within “unknown unknowns.” Inspired by Hawaiian scholar Dr Manulani Aluli Meyer’s concept of “mutual emergence,” we will discuss a way of living in relationality that supports collective growth and flourishing.
April 24: Metacognition as a First-Responder: Design thinking, learning, & GenAI with Rafe Steinhauer
In this session, Professor Rafe Steinhauer will introduce activities used to prompt metacognitive awareness and collective ideation for effective and ethical GenAI. Attendees will explore both how GenAI can benefit and threaten transformative learning opportunities through two design thinking methods: Journey Maps and Janusian Thinking. This Forging Fridays session also includes the latest science on transformative learning and a collective discussion about ways to leverage design mindsets to enhance learning in the era of AI.
May 29: Design Process Mindsets: Switching neural networks for social impact and participatory design with Wayne Li
What are the mindsets and design behaviours that produce the most meaningful and transformative outcomes for designers, practitioners, and learners? Building on the teachings of his recent publication, Design Empathy and Contextual Awareness: Frames of Reference for the 21st Century Creative, this session will guide you in identifying when and which mindsets to use in your design thinking process. By being cognisant of and leveraging which mindsets to switch between when you’re designing-in-relationship, you can more fully leverage collective social impact.
RSDX UNBOUND
RSDX Unbound: Call for participation
We invite colleagues who have presented, facilitated, or participated in RSDX or RSD sessions to join the pilot. The space will develop through the work brought into it and the range of contributions offered.