Beyond Borders: The ‘e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g’ manifesto (Proposal version)
The original version of the following text was initially written by IAM co-founder, Andres Colmenares, for the Design Does book published by ELISAVA earlier this year and an updated version was presented at the DEL — Digitally Engaged Learning conference 2018 at York University. It is part of IAM’s ongoing research of the futures of arts, design & learning under the theme of ‘The Subversion of Paradoxes’
Note: Not yet a final version (hence the ‘what if’ format) Feedback, comments and thoughts are more than welcome. Let’s talk about ‘everything’…
E– What if we go beyond static binary mindsets and then understand our identities as dynamic and fluid spectrums?
V– What if we go beyond aesthetic simplicity and solutionism — the “make everything easy/simple/fast” approach — and then embrace the natural and challenging beauty of complex systems?
E– What if we go beyond designing filter bubbles, addictive buttons or toxic algorithms and then use design for coexistence, promoting digital literacy, curiosity, tolerance and debate?
R– What if we go beyond the obsession for nowness, speed and ‘growth-for-the-sake-of- growth’ and then enjoy long-term thinking to create alternative and diverse utopias that guide our futures-thinking?
Y– What if we go beyond screens, the flat black mirrors in our pockets, when thinking of digital design only visually and then explore, experiment, understand the ethical implications of emerging conversational interfaces, listening devices, sensors and its embedded complexity?
T– What if we go beyond limiting our relationship with technology to creating or buying devices and then augment it to recognise the political and ethical implications of technology manifested in behaviours, systems and infrastructure?
H– What if we go beyond investing our time and attention in never-ending feeds and then use the tools and networks we have to make better and more conscious decisions individually and collectively?
I– What if we go beyond becoming growth, progress and productivity fans and then in a humble way start exploring further the concept of coevolution and the value of procrastination?
N– What if we go beyond the selfishness of human-centered-design and question collectively the emergence of humanity-centered-design, aiming then for a holistic and paradoxical planetary-centered-design that leads to decentralisation?
G– What if we go beyond the disciplinary approach to design education and then cultivate the potential of a transdisciplinary one?
At the end, the purpose of these questions is not find the correct answers but instead to try to formulate better ones, based on the thought experiments each one suggests and using them as tools to understand EVERYTHING better.
Related articles:
- ‘Why Are We Teaching Humans How To Code And Machines How To Learn?’ published on LSN Global
- ‘How the Walkman made us who we are and why we need to redesign desires beyond tech’ published on IAM Journal
