Pluriverse

‘Intense’, 'Disturbing’, 'Ambiguous' might be a few keywords that best describe how I felt about chapter one of the book Designs for the Pluriverse by Arturo Escobar.

The author sets the context by talking about the role of a designer in this complex world. Is it simplifying things? Is it capitalist or selfless? Do people really need technological innovations for expression? He describes the attributes of ideal design as participatory, human-centered and socially oriented.

An Ideal World…

Escobar speaks quite a bit about the current state of this world. He mentions climate change activities as one of the good things, but also that they are not fast enough. The chapter touches upon Sustainability by design, and how Transition and autonomous design proposals might be just ‘poking at the edges’, which I interpreted as being on the sidelines, and unable to crack the core issues. The text also made it plausible that we are conveniently ignoring the true concerns. He also speaks about critical design studies, speculative design, and politics. A common theme that emerges in all of them is ‘wicked problems’ — when you solve for one aspect of any of these problems, you end up creating another — like inequality, racism, sexism, colonialism.

Present-day World…

I mulled over for quite some time on his analogy of design as a culture, and design as a practice to maintain order. What is a good way to create “desired functions and meanings” such that the world becomes a better place, for sure? I have started to realize the importance of the belief system of the designer.

I figure the essence of his argument lies in moving design out of the studio. I have personally observed that a lot of times, I myself tend to live in a bubble. To go outside, talk to users and get a sense of reality — is like exercise. It is most difficult to start, but you thank yourself once you are done.

When design becomes a philosophy — more than an academic discipline or field of practice — and everyone is a designer, it might become natural for everyone to design mindfully. However, for designers of today, it might mean losing the identity of this profession.

Escobar moves further to talk about disciplines that include or revolve around design. He talks about Architecture — how it adds meaning to buildings. He describes the challenges in urbanism — cities with capitalist modernity, climate change, population growth, and global unsustainability.

He also speaks about meaning in the domain of digital design — how files, systems, and media gain meaning only in their social context, through community practice. This thought reminded me of the sign theory of language by Saussure, which has established that the image invoked in someone’s mind is dependent not just on the sign, but on the things that give meaning to that sign, for this person.

The one thing I will take away from this reading would be: we have ‘modern problems with no modern solutions’ as of now. Sharing the ownership of design with people who are facing the problem, might be a new way to solve for them.