Design is Helping to Destroy Our Planet. Here’s Why.
Have you ever wondered what role design has played in the environmental crisis of our modern world? How did we end up in a world where mass production and consumerism are acceptable at the expense of our environment? And how have designers helped perpetuate this lifestyle that is slowly drowning our environment and our planet?
The truth is that design played a huge role in shaping the consumerist culture of our world today, and it can all be traced back to one iconic German School: the Bauhaus. Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus art school in 1919, and it was a revolutionary design laboratory that marked the emergence of Modernism. Gropius rejected traditional liberal artistic views in favor of an apolitical approach that prioritized form and function over ornamentation. However, the School’s early phases still retained a humanistic and expressive approach led by instructor Johannes Itten who encouraged a convivial and mystical methodology of artistic practice.
But, in 1922, Itten resigned as the school shifted towards the International Style it is known for today. This shift marked a turning point for the School as it focused on form and function over ornamentation, which is associated today with our consumerist culture and the modern world. This focus included favoring things like technology, mass production, and just, in general, the machine as the new driving force for design in the school.
The ideas of harnessing the power of mass production and deriving beauty from function, while seemingly beneficial, ultimately led to the techno-fetishistic society that we have today, where we prioritize consumerism, the production of goods, and commodities over the preservation of our planet and its natural resources. You can look at the many landfills that today occupy our countries and cities. These objects serve as reminders that the products manufactured in the machinic factory have become more natural to us than the once evocative landscapes idealized by Renaissance painters. This outcome is a direct result of the design decisions and choices made during the Bauhaus era. It highlights why designers should think long-term about their work’s impact on society and the environment.
I’ve previously used the word machinic, but what does it exactly mean, especially in the context of modernity? So in this specific context, the term machinic refers to the increasing use and integration of machines and technology in society. This concept is usually associated with the Industrial Revolution and how it has transformed how people work, live, and interact with each other. It’s also related to the concept of the post-human condition, where humans and machines are increasingly intertwined in a way that blurs the boundaries between the two. Machinic modernity is the idea that the modern world is shaped by the machines and the technologies we use. These machines and technologies are so pervasive that they have become integral to our lives and culture.
With this in mind, we can see how the Bauhaus early fascination with technology ignited the modernist flame within the design discipline, laying the groundwork for the many products and technologies that have facilitated the creation of our modern machinic world. Unfortunately, new worrisome patterns in our modern society could further exacerbate the destructive outcomes heralded by the Bauhaus line of thinking.
One such pattern is the connection between mental health and the ubiquity of smart devices, which have ingrained social media and other platforms in our daily lives. The design of these products and platforms can significantly impact our mental health and well-being, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, and FOMO. However, the problems extend beyond the software into the design and fabrication of the smart devices themselves. Why? Well, it stems from our collective apathy towards material costs and our indifference towards disposability.
One great example is our common habit of replacing our smartphones every 12 months, even though these devices have a significant environmental impact throughout their life cycle. From resource extraction to disposal, smartphones’ footprint is incredibly undermined and contributes to habitat destruction, water and air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil and water contamination. Additionally, the batteries in smartphones also pose a challenge when it comes to recycling and disposal. However, most of us don’t consider these things when upgrading our phones, shining a light on the broken design of the supply chain and our destructive everyday habits as a society.
Lastly, another concerning pattern is the integration of artificial intelligence in digital products and interfaces. As AI becomes more prevalent, designers must consider the potential consequences of its use, such as the manipulation and exploitation of user data and behavior and the possible perpetuation of biases and discrimination. Additionally, designers need to consider the ethical implications of AI, such as ensuring transparency, explainability, authorship, and accountability.
I’m not saying we should abolish technology and return to pre-industrial times. Not at all! Technology has countless benefits. However, with positives also come adverse side effects, and our job is to ensure that the negatives are minimized as much as possible. Doing so requires one simple step: asking questions. Is a more machinic world something that we aspire to? Is a world where the machine is given more importance than our natural environment something that we find acceptable? Just like defining a problem at the beginning of the design thinking process, asking questions allows us to be critical of our world and our decisions with the hope of finding solutions and identifying problems before scenarios escalate to the point of no return. At the end of the day, the world is just one large complex system, and asking questions helps us model that system to find leverage points and intervene as early as possible.
What we are witnessing in the world today is the effect of many participants and many players. Putting all the responsibility on a school like the Bauhaus is inaccurate. However, as designers, we need to understand the impact our work can have on the world, especially when faced daily with stakeholders who don’t necessarily believe in the value of design or don’t understand it. So, looking at the past, understanding the role a school like the Bauhaus played in ushering in a new era of design pedagogy is extremely important. Why? Because it helps us understand the impact that our work can have on the world, especially if we can’t recognize its value ourselves.
