designing for the next billion seconds

week reflections

We started the term with the seminar ‘Designing for the next billion seconds’. The seminar raised my interest in the discipline of Speculative Design.
I enjoyed the constant travel between past, present, and future. We questioned these notions using storytelling and especially writing.

I am convinced by the fact that to provoke change, we need to change the narrative and always wanted to use storytelling in my practice but didn’t know how so it was quite inspiring for me to see different examples: using writing, video, poetry, reflecting on the words meanings or even asking questions.

what I want to remember

• Crisis of imagination - It is difficult to think of alternatives to the current economic system.
• There is a problem with the fact that our society is normalizing billionaires. They should be seen as an anomaly. Our imaginations have been colonized in this way.
• Collective vs individual - We think of ourselves as interdependent beings but individual action is not enough. Any energy used in individual actions is energy not used for organizing collective change.
• The Everything Manifesto by IAM

practices I want to continue

• Reflecting on the words we use
• Using storytelling as a tool for critical thinking
• Approaching design as a way to create systems rather than solutions

words I liked

• Post-tech
• Speculative design
• Futures in a plural version
• Replace climate change by environmental emergency
• Degrowth