In this book trailer for the book DESIGN (&) ACTIVISM, three of the co-authors – Alastair Fuad-Luke, Thomas Markussen and Cathy Gale – present their concepts on Design as Activism and Activism as Design.
“DESIGN (&) ACTIVISM is a book about how the worlds of Design and Activism (could) inspire each other. It focuses on theories and practices related to the role of design in terms of addressing, provoking, creating and disrupting political discourse. Starting from traditional forms of protest, visual languages of resistance, speculative aspects of dissent, to new forms of digital participation, this will help us to better understand the rituals, structures and meanings of design activism in history and the present, clarifying that design is intrinsically social and supremely political. And it shall help us to derive arguments and examples for the transformative potential of future design (and) activism.
The volume contains contributions by Alastair Fuad-Luke, Guy Julier, Ann Thorpe, Chantal Mouffe, Gui Bonsiepe, Thomas Markussen, Gavin Grindon, Michael Erlhoff, Anna Feigenbaum, Cathy Gale, Barbara Hoidn, Stephen Duncombe, Steve Lambert, Harald Gruendl, Fernando Luiz Lara, Tom Bieling, Pierre Smolarski, Marcel René Marburger, Maziar Rezai and Mikala Hyldig Dal.
http://www.design-activism.org
Video / Editing / Conception: Kai Hattermann / filetroyal.com @ 2021
Designforschung.org (Relaunch)
July 1, 2021
Check out our new website! New features, new look, and new visions for DESIGNABILITIES Design Research Journal. And if you are not already a subscriber to our newsletter, now would be the perfect time to subscribe and stay up to date (new articles, events, calls, etc.). This short clip* is meant to help you navigate through www.designforschung.org
Big shout outs to Torben Körschkes (Webdesign), Philipp Gieseler (Development) and Ethan Nakache / Collletttivo (Font: Sprat).
Neu: GENDER (&) Design
April 20, 2020
GENDER (&) DESIGN has been published (in German*) as the second title in the book series Design Meanings (Mimesis Edizioni).
In its entire range of media and product worlds, Design is decisively involved in the cultural production and distribution of related images and interpretations of gender. This anthology examines why this is the case and what happens when it is changed, from different perspectives and knowledge disciplines relevant to design. The contributions collected in this book enter into an interdisciplinary dialogue on the design of gender and provide theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding the social, cultural and political functions of design.
The edited volume contains contributions by Uta Brandes, Wolfgang Ullrich, Sabine Foraita, Daniel Hornuff, Katharina Krämer, Birgit Weller, Marion Godau, Tom Bieling, Antonia Wagner, Sarah Reininghaus, Julia Willms, Bianca Prietl, Tanja Paulitz, Nicola Marsden, Dorothea Erharter, Claude Draude, Till Beutling, Daniela Döring, Sabine Hahn and Fred Meier-Menzel.
* Design ist in seiner gesamten Bandbreite an Medien- und Produktwelten maßgeblich an der kulturellen Produktion und Distribution damit verbundener Bilder und Deutungsweisen von Geschlecht beteiligt. Warum das so ist und was passiert, wenn man es ändert, untersucht der Sammelband aus verschiedenen gestaltungsrelevanten Blickwinkeln und Wissensdisziplinen. Die hier versammelten Beiträge treten dabei in einen interdisziplinären Dialog über die Gestaltung von Geschlecht und liefern theoretische sowie methodische Ansätze zum Verständnis der sozialen, kulturellen und politischen Funktionen von Design.
Available since 26. March 2020
Tom Bieling (Ed.): GENDER (&) DESIGN –
Positionen Zur Vergeschlechtlichung in Gestaltungskulturen
Design Meanings #2
Mimesis International
274 Pages, German
ISBN 978-8869772429
New Book: DESIGN (&) ACTIVISM
November 5, 2019
Happy to announce DESIGN (&) ACTIVISM to be published as the first title in the book series Design Meanings (Mimesis Edizioni).
This is a book about how the worlds of design and activism (could) inspire each other. The book focuses on theories and practices related to the role of Design in terms of addressing, provoking and creating political discourse. Starting from traditional forms of protest, visual languages of resistance, to new forms of digital participation, this will help us to better understand the rituals, structures and meanings of design activism in history and the present, clarifying that design is intrinsically social and supremely political. And it shall help us to derive arguments and examples for the transformative potential of future design (and) activism.
The volume contains contributions by Alastair Fuad-Luke, Guy Julier, Ann Thorpe, Chantal Mouffe, Gui Bonsiepe, Thomas Markussen, Gavin Grindon, Michael Erlhoff, Anna Feigenbaum, Cathy Gale, Barbara Hoidn, Stephen Duncombe, Steve Lambert, Harald Gruendl, Fernando Luiz Lara, Tom Bieling, Pierre Smolarski, Marcel René Marburger, Maziar Rezai or Mikala Hyldig Dal.
Available since 30. October 2019
Tom Bieling (Ed.): DESIGN (&) ACTIVISM –
Perspectives on Design as Activism and Activism as Design
Mimesis International; ISBN 978-8869772412
254 Pages, English
ISBN: 9788869772412
Further Info via the International Research Network on Design (and) Activism at www.design-activism.org
Buch: Inklusion als Entwurf
October 1, 2019
Thrilled to announce that my new book “Inklusion als Entwurf” (Inclusion as Design) is now available!
»Wie wir Dinge gestalten, hat einen maßgeblichen Einfluss darauf, was oder wen wir als ›normal‹ oder ›normabweichend‹ empfinden. Design markiert somit die Grenzbereiche zwischen In- und Exklusion, indem es implizit Rollen- und Wertebilder konfiguriert und dabei gleichermaßen in den Herstellungs- und Deutungsprozess von Normalität involviert ist.
Wenn solche Normvorstellungen durch Design mitkonstruiert werden, bedeutet das im Umkehrschluss jedoch auch, dass sie sich durch Design dekonstruieren, also kritisch hinterfragen und verändern lassen: Design kann also auch Gegenmodelle entwickeln.
Tom Bieling deckt auf zahlreichen Ebenen Verbindungen von Design und Inklusion auf und leitet daraus nicht nur neue Operationsbereiche für Designer ab, sondern liefert auch Anknüpfungspunkte für andere Praxis- und Wissensfelder.«
[Foto: Hans Sauer Stiftung]
Ab 30. September 2019
Tom Bieling: Inklusion als Entwurf
Birkhäuser / DeGruyter
BIRD Board of International Research in Design
320 Seiten, deutsch
ISBN-10: 3035620202
ISBN-13: 978-3035620207
Book: Integrative Design
June 15, 2019
Design reflects social developments in those issues which are also embraced by design researchers. A key concept for how designers position themselves in the future, according to the editor’s thesis, may well be integrative design. This term denotes design’s potential for the integrative development of a society, a potential imperatively linked with economic and political positions.
The book Integrative Design collects basic essays on aspects of integrative design, including design after ownership, inclusion, design as an interface with society, the integration of design and technology, and the political agenda of design. The associated website documents research projects that expand on these aspects.
Essays by Jörg Petruschat, Tony Fry, Cameron Tonkinwise, Ursula Tischner,
Anna Meroni, Tom Bieling, Sandra Groll and Helge Oder.
Ralf Michel (Ed.): Integrative Design – Essays and Projects on Design Research
Birkhäuser / DeGrutyer / BIRD Board of International Research in Design
ISBN-13: 978-3038216445
Social Design: Technik für alle! (TINCON 2016)
July 29, 2016
TINCON (short for Teenage Internetwork Convention) is a conference for teenagers and young adults that revolves around the central theme of “digital youth culture”. In lectures, discussions and workshops, the 13- to 21-year-old visitors deal with topics such as digitalization, society, politics, environmental protection and lifestyle. I was invited to give a talk on the social aspects of technology and host a very exciting session with Dennis Wilkens and Beatrice Gold about the role of technology in our everyday lives.
Richard Sennett on “Democratic Technology”
August 4, 2015
In order to understand and to deal with contemporary societies, different concepts are possible or necessary. Some of the essential elements in Richard Sennett’s work to do so, are related to the notion of Work, Capitalism, City and also to Ritual and Religion as fundamental structures (of Society). A couple of days ago, i met Mr. Sennett* for a coffee and we had a fascinating conversation on material culture, democracy and according “power relations”, also the role of technology was discussed. The central question: What kind of technology do we need? Sennett put it in a nutshell, as you will see in this designabilities video.
* Richard Sennett ist the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and University Professor oft he Humanities at New York University. Sennett has studied social ties in cities, and the effects of urban living on invividuals in the modern world.
F L U G M U S I K
January 11, 2014
Eine Woche lang arbeiteten Studierende aus verschiedenen Fachbereichen der Berliner Universität der Künste (UdK) zusammen an fliegenden Klangobjekten und klingenden Flugobjekten. Objekte, die schweben, gleiten, geworfen oder katapultiert werden. Objekte, die klingen, singen, knattern und flüstern. Einzige Grundbedingungen: kein Strom, kein Schwarzpulver. Leitung: Tilmann Dehnhard (Jazzinstitut Berlin) Tom Bieling (Design Research Lab) Videoschnitt: Antje Lass.
Das Projekt F L U G M U S I K ist Teil der “Campus Kollision” 2014 (Trailer).
DESIGN IN(G) SOCIETY
July 23, 2013
In the winter semester 2012/13, a group of 130 9th semester graphic-, media- and product-design students from German University in Cairo (GUC) and GUC Campus Berlin have been participating in the Cairo- and Berlin-based Project “DESIGN IN(G) SOCIETY”, lead by Tom Bieling (Design Research Lab, Berlin). The intercultural project, related to the course “Advanced Research Methods”, focuses on the designer’s role in terms of understanding, influencing and creating social sustainable processes in urban context. The guiding questions were: What role does the design of urban environment and public spaces play in terms of enabling or hindering social interaction? What role do “objects” play in this context? A special focus was laid out on social Interaction between people with “conflict potential” (e.g. old-young, man-woman, rich-poor, different cultural or religious backgrounds, state — people, etc….). Final goal of the course was, to find (designerley) ways of solving the social Problems, the participants discovered, using the broad range of design-relevant issues and skillz (e.g. Product-, Service-, Information-, Interaction-, Event-, …Design).
This video collects some of the manifold impressions from the project. The project has been accomponied by a blog, meant to document the process and the outcomes of this project. Click here, if you want to learn more about DESIGN IN(G) SOCIETY! http://designingsociety.wordpress.com/
Credits: The video contains material from the following project teams, in its order of appearance: Project “The burial Chamber” (Hesham Ashour, Mohamed El Kholy, Shreef Kamesh) Project “New Cairo Residents vs Street Vendors” (Ahd Badawy, Heba Sherif, Mariam El-Tonsy, Nadine Azim, Yasmine Motaleb) Project “Kiosk Hangout” (Alyaa El Gharby, Aya El-Shawarby, Dina El Said, Nehal Reda, Salma Bayoumi, Sara Sallam) Project “Don’t judge me!” (Ayounour Hussein, Farah Galal, Salma El Far, Samar Khazbak, Shaymaa Ezzo, ) Project “Sexual Harassment” (Aya Elsify, Esraa Thabet, Hend Awad, Mennat-Allah Kheireldin, Norhan Abdelmosen, Noura Hussein)
Supervision: Tom Bieling, 2012/13
Prof. Dr. phil. Tom Bieling 