Output details

Design for sustainable change: how design and designers can drive the sustainability agenda

This book represents over 20 years studying and teaching the emerging design theories, practices and debates concerning how design and designers respond to sustainable development agendas. The book is targeted at design professionals and students.

Chick undertook social survey research and co-curated an exhibition at the start of the authoring process to explore a group of design professionals understanding, mapping and visual articulation of the key sustainable design theories and practices. This research occurred at the Icograda World Design Congress 2009 in Beijing from 20-23 October. The two day workshop, included forum discussions and visualisation exercises with 26 participants (CAFA: 106-107), as well as semi-structured face to face interviews with five participants.

The results appeared in the Greengaged exhibition (25 October - 07 November) co-curated by Chick with Sophie Thomas (CAFA: 78-79; http://www.flickr.com/groups/1275289@N23/pool/). This research and Chick’s 2010 contract research (BSI Sustainable Design PAS 8910; and advisor on the Sustainable Futures exhibition, Design Museum, London) have informed the publication’s structure and content (http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2010/sustainable-futures).

The authors followed up the above research with twelve semi-structured telephone and email interviews with design and sustainability thinkers; additional desk research; and the design of illustrations and charts. As a direct result of the above research the authors argue that, too often, design for sustainability discourses do not engage with the full range of sustainable development agendas and focus predominantly on sustainable consumption and production. This gap is addressed and new and critical directions for design are signposted.

Since publication in May 2011, the book has been widely adopted by the design community and is core reading at many leading Design programmes. Chan. T. (2012) Arts Society of America – review (http://www.arlisna.org/pubs/reviews/2012/03/chick.pdf)

China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). (2009). Icograda World Design Congress 2009 Beijing & 1st Beijing Design Week: Programme Review. CAFA: Beijing. http://www.icograda.org/uploads/resources/E_BEI_WDC09Summary.pdf