From Navigating Global Policy to the Relationship Between Human and Nature through Innovation.
Rosalie Valentiny was once a Project Manager at the Embassy of France in Italy. Now she is pursuing her passion towards material culture as a scientist, designer, and innovator.
Moderated by Wigy Ramadhan
Photograph by Wigy Ramadhan
Designers have always been known for their critical view of the world. We are trained to read signals and patterns to identify problems and then create solutions from them.
However, in the last decades, we have used our critical and creative skills to contribute to the destruction of the world by driving overconsumption, exploiting natural resources, and prioritising profit over impact.
We need to change our practice. We must use our critical and creative thinking for good. Today’s ever-changing world, with the climate crisis and societal issues are complex challenge that cannot be solved by one discipline alone.
In response, we have developed a design manifesto, which we call Design for Future Reality. This manifesto is to guide us on our journey to make an impact on our planetary and societal scale. To create a bright and responsible reality. Because reality is neither utopia nor dystopia.
Design for Future Reality Manifesto, 2023 - Wigy Ramadhan
Inspired by Dunne and Raby's A/B Manifesto, where ‘A’ characterised how most people thought of design at that time, and ‘B’ suggested a set of contrasting values. We came up with a similar idea, but rather we called it ‘Now’ and ‘Future’.
Dunne and Raby's A/B manifesto in their book Speculative Everything has been proven to be a thought-provoking manifesto that changes the way today’s designers think and practice. Speculative design has become an integral part of the way designer see their work more critically, beyond what constrains them in just designing for practicality.
A/B Manifesto, Dunne and Raby, 2009
When we said the Design for Future Reality manifesto is also for critique, it means as a critique of today’s practice, where we think it needs to change. Looking at the A/B Manifesto, though it has expanded the way designers practice design, the purpose of speculative design is not to make an action to change our reality, but rather to imagine possible realities.
This leads to daydreaming, yet it is indeed to inspire and provoke change. But oftentimes, we all just fall in love with the imagination, rather than make a real impact. The Design for Future Reality manifesto is not to annul this A/B Manifesto, but rather to expand beyond it, to explore new directions.
Design for Future Reality manifesto attempts to bring up what we need to shift in our practice by listing characteristics of how we can make our practice more grounded in making a responsible reality for the future of our and the next generation.
Footnotes
However, in the last decades, we have used our critical and creative skills to contribute to the destruction of the world by driving overconsumption, exploiting natural resources, and prioritising profit over impact.
We need to change our practice. We must use our critical and creative thinking for good. Today’s ever-changing world, with the climate crisis and societal issues are complex challenge that cannot be solved by one discipline alone.
In response, we have developed a design manifesto, which we call Design for Future Reality. This manifesto is to guide us on our journey to make an impact on our planetary and societal scale. To create a bright and responsible reality. Because reality is neither utopia nor dystopia.
Inspired by Dunne and Raby's A/B Manifesto, where ‘A’ characterised how most people thought of design at that time, and ‘B’ suggested a set of contrasting values. We came up with a similar idea, but rather we called it ‘Now’ and ‘Future’.
Dunne and Raby's A/B manifesto in their book Speculative Everything has been proven to be a thought-provoking manifesto that changes the way today’s designers think and practice. Speculative design has become an integral part of the way designer see their work more critically, beyond what constrains them in just designing for practicality.
When we said the Design for Future Reality manifesto is also for critique, it means as a critique of today’s practice, where we think it needs to change. Looking at the A/B Manifesto, though it has expanded the way designers practice design, the purpose of speculative design is not to make an action to change our reality, but rather to imagine possible realities.
This leads to daydreaming, yet it is indeed to inspire and provoke change. But oftentimes, we all just fall in love with the imagination, rather than make a real impact. The Design for Future Reality manifesto is not to annul this A/B Manifesto, but rather to expand beyond it, to explore new directions.
Design for Future Reality manifesto attempts to bring up what we need to shift in our practice by listing characteristics of how we can make our practice more grounded in making a responsible reality for the future of our and the next generation.
Footnotes