We Shape Our Tools, Then They Shape Us

The artifact is a set of ten cards entitled TED’s TEN, developed by the research group Textiles Environment Design (Chelsea College of Art and Design, UAL), a group of education and practice based design academics investigating sustainability in the textile and fashion industries. When used together, the cards can serve as practical guidelines to examine, survey and highlight the problem of sustainability and the role of designers in change and innovation. They present visual evidence of strategic thinking.

Each card identifies a significant, critical area for attention in the lifecycle of the product and suggests a strategy for analysis and change; approach and resolution; consideration and action, acting as a tool to overcome the barriers to improvement. Developed with a focus on textiles and fashion, they have a potential role in generating strategic concepts for the design process generally. They offer a persuasive prototype from design research and are a research tool in themselves, whose relevance becomes clear when used to facilitate design workshops.

The cards promote group workshop discussions in game-play and role-play formats. They are offered as a range of entry points for positive research-led engagement from the practical to the idealistic.