Creating Change: A case study of transformation, from ‘making greener things’ towards ‘design for transitions’

There are significant challenges to be faced in addressing the complex problems contributing to structural unsustainability, many of which are accelerated by design. Of particular interest to this research is the socio-economic problem of excess consumption and waste in the Global North; a complex problem with increasing visibility in the public sphere. Many designers seem unable to take action against structural unsustainability— particularly against consumption and waste—but with increased knowledge and empowerment, designers could contribute to transitions toward just and sustainable futures. A critical pragmatism frames this mixed method research, which explores design’s role in sustainability transitions and presents a comparative case study of transition in an Australian communication and interaction design practice. It documents a transformation from ‘making greener things’ to ‘design for transitions’ through an analytic auto-ethnographic study that discusses the personal, political and professional dimensions of this process. To further investigate how design processes might also need to transition, theoretical knowledge has been applied in real-world projects, conducted as research through design and discussed as sites within the case. The case is contextualised by data collected through interviews with designers and discusses their experiences of design industry norms. Analysis indicates designers encounter multiple tensions in their practice, and that critical engagement with sustainability is inhibited by unsustainable industry norms. Resisting these norms also creates tensions in practice and it appears that whether resisting or following industry norms designers can experience a double bind, where action feels simultaneously necessary and impossible. Further synthesis permits recognition of design’s mediation of consumer culture and the social and ecological implications arising from this, including the emergence of the ‘designer-consumer’ whose immersion in consumer culture renders them incapable of designing against consumption. Reflection on my transformation to conscious consumption and a zero waste lifestyle brings new perspectives to the design process, creating a cognitive space where the emergent ‘designer-transformer’ can consider radical and relational approaches to decelerating consumption. This research recognises design as an important agent for change, and moreover it recognises how self transformation can empower designers to contribute more deeply to transitions toward just and sustainable futures.