on Social Design.

I first heard John Thackara speaking at an OpenTalk at the ExperimentaDesign Bienalle, in Lisbon. That was 2005, but ever since I've been a confessed follower of his writings. I bought In The Bubble that very same day and it became one of my cornerstone student books, from which I drew inspiration and a lot of questioning. I was one of those students who longed for the exercises to be a bit more about purpose and real problem-solving, and a little less ... Read More

In the last issue of Frieze, Ronald Jones goes out to build a bridge between conceptual art movements and their ontological/epistemological programs, and how contemporary designers are taking this critic energy within the Fine Arts to design "the experiences of knowledge production, reception and comprehension across disciplines - often furthest from their own - affording them an expanding sphere of influence." One of the many important points in this article: "The customization of epistemological Conceptualism" [as opposed to ontological Conceptualism] "represents the most ... Read More

Early in December 2008, the UK Design Museum announced the nominations for the 2009 Brit Insurance Design of the Year award, including a nomination for the first EVER service design project to be included in the awards – The Social Innovation Lab for Kent (SILK), by Engine. SILK is a project and a platform Engine have been developing with Kent County Council (a local government authority in the UK) that helps users and providers of public services create better services together using design ... Read More