If you’re not in an existential crisis as a designer focusing on Wellbeing, you’re not doing it right!

Abstract

These essays are edited versions of conversations between designers from the Design Research Society (DRS) with different areas of focus: social design, global health, sustainability, wellness, and education. In response to the many changes in the profession over the last few decades, I said to a few of my DRS colleagues, "well, if you're not in an existential crisis as a designer in 2021, maybe you're not doing it right." This statement became the prompt for rich essays that ImaginationLancaster originally published in 2021. What were the existential crises of designers today? Was it the shift away from objects and artifacts? Was it the changing evaluation standards for designers? Was it the complex social problems that designers were asked to address? Was it the growing awareness of a misalignment between the theoretical grounding of design and personal philosophies? How are designers working through their crises? We are happy to share these reflections as part of this issue for BranD magazine. The original essays have been edited for clarity and length. Leitão and Noel reflect on their existential crises in social design when they realized that the "old ways of working" were ineffective. They share how they have moved beyond the crisis. Jones proposes a modification to the prompt that focuses on the awareness of existential crises and the importance as educators of supporting students through these destabilizing crises that lead to transformation. Boehnert, Dewberry, and Wilson commit to expanding the scope of design for sustainability to ensure that there is a focus on social and climate justice and the wellbeing of both the human and non-human alongside the more traditional ecological questions. Petermans, Ozkaramanli, Tonetto, and Poldma look at design for wellbeing and address the critiques of happiness theories as elitist. Instead, they propose that design can contribute to wellbeing across various populations. Finally, Tsekleves cautions readers to consider the inequality created by the digital divide and asks them to reexamine design's role in closing global health and wellbeing gaps in light of this inequity. As you read, what existential crises do you recognize for designers? How are the designers that you know reframing their practice? Guest Editor Lesley-Ann Noel The Crisis FaCing graphiC Design 011 010 Designers' exisTenTial Crises