As designers and product creators, we are not just producing items with a lifecycle defined by human use. We are releasing into the world something that impacts multiple ecosystems spanning the time and distance of the product’s entire lifecycle, from the sourcing of its various materials to the manufacturing, repair, life of use, and final breakdown.

The evolution of life-centred design (also known as ‘environment-centred design’ and ‘planet-centred design’) has begun to expand our mindset from purely human-centred creation to include consideration of sustainable economical, environmental, and social solutions.

Perhaps a life-centred design approach to the introduction of lithium into…

Speculative Design is a design practice combining science fiction world-building techniques with design to create prototypes of future artefacts to provoke thinking and discussion about potential futures beyond what we think is possible.

The practice emerged in the 1990s as designers began to question their role in consumerism’s impact on the planet. This values-based, experimental practice remained a lesser-known curio until the internet exposed it to the wider design folk, offering them a means to explore designing for values over profit.

While foresight practices and other futures studies start with an analysis of today and relevant data to identify unseen…

In a time when a pandemic has shut down the world, bushfires turn the skies Bladerunner orange, the truth becomes fake news and fake news becomes truth, it’s almost undeniable how easy science fiction can become science fact.

And yet the world’s skies remain empty of flying cars.

Because science fiction isn’t purely about prediction.

Science fiction casts present and imagined trajectories into the future to explore alternative perspectives on today, to both warn and inspire us, and possibly change the direction in which we are headed.

Designing for the fiction of future scenarios can have a similar effect on…

“The Social Dilemma” on Netflix will make you think hard and frighten you even more

In 2011, former Google design ethicist Tristan Harris shared a presentation with Google calling for them to address how its products were exploiting human psychology vulnerabilities.

Many employees applauded Harris, and Google put him in charge of ethical design. But, according to Harris, the company’s commitment to change fizzled out, so he left in 2016 to co-found the Center for Humane Technology, and to teach ways of using technology to better serve people.

It’s a battle Harris is still fighting, and one that The Social…

If you could, would you apply Facebook and Snapchat filters to your sight? If the overcast day brought down your mood, would you choose a sunny day filter? What about the rows of buildings outside your bedroom window — would you prefer to wake up to the sparkling view of a giant waterfall? And the endless concrete covering the city, would you prefer it covered in lush green?

What if every day you could see and interact with a version of the world you preferred— a unique view personalised for you according to what makes you happy—all with a few…

Designing for tomorrow is like having a time machine that takes you to alternate futures. You’ll be tempted to visit the Utopias, but only a devoted Future Thief will visit the Dystopias we need to steal from to prevent dark-trend-infested products enabling the end of the world.

The path of an artifact assassin is not easy, however — you’ll have to disassemble something a fellow designer might create in the near future, or perhaps it will be something created by your older self!

If you dare to tread this perilous yet exciting path, let me introduce you to the mind-bending…

Designing for tomorrow is like having a time machine that takes you to alternate futures. You’ll be tempted to visit the Utopias, but only a devoted Future Thief will visit the Dystopias we need to steal from to prevent dark-trend-infested products enabling the end of the world.

The path of an artifact assassin is not easy, however — you’ll have to disassemble something a fellow designer might create in the near future, or perhaps it will be something created by your older self!

If you dare to tread this perilous yet exciting path, let me introduce you to the mind-bending…

Imagine an advanced, uber-personalised Augmented Reality you could activate with a blink…

Unfortunately, today’s smart eyewear experience is more like a smartwatch for your face. However, companies like Microsoft and Magic Leap are investing billions in business applications for Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR). With Apple and Facebook also developing their own devices, smart eyewear could eventually replace smartphones, impacting every aspect of our lives.

But as with any new advancement in consumer technology, the hype and development of AR/MR are outpacing any research into potential effects on the mind or vision from prolonged exposure. When it comes…