Abstract
Over the past decade Relative Creative, an Australia-based strategic design studio informed by design futuring, decolonial design approaches and participatory design, has cultivated and adapted a variety of tools and methods to support designing with a focus on social justice, just transitions and sustainable futures. This paper will explore a series of case studies of projects undertaken in this time. Projects from across the region are explored to understand key design tools engaged and unpack key learning through the lens of successes, challenges and failures. Case studies include practice driven and government-led projects. Individually these case studies illustrate an holistic approach, blending futures thinking, visual communication, and place-based engagement, to challenge dominant narratives and create grounds for change. Together, the case studies highlight the need to refuse the use of ‘one-size-fits-all' design tools when designing for cultural resilience, policy innovation, and ecological stewardship.
Keywords
Design futuring; Design practice; Case study; Design tools
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.605
Citation
Barnett, B.(2025) Refusing 'one-size-fits-all'; a studio focussed review of futures-oriented approaches to design, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.605
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 10 - Design Practices & Impacts
Refusing 'one-size-fits-all'; a studio focussed review of futures-oriented approaches to design
Over the past decade Relative Creative, an Australia-based strategic design studio informed by design futuring, decolonial design approaches and participatory design, has cultivated and adapted a variety of tools and methods to support designing with a focus on social justice, just transitions and sustainable futures. This paper will explore a series of case studies of projects undertaken in this time. Projects from across the region are explored to understand key design tools engaged and unpack key learning through the lens of successes, challenges and failures. Case studies include practice driven and government-led projects. Individually these case studies illustrate an holistic approach, blending futures thinking, visual communication, and place-based engagement, to challenge dominant narratives and create grounds for change. Together, the case studies highlight the need to refuse the use of ‘one-size-fits-all' design tools when designing for cultural resilience, policy innovation, and ecological stewardship.