Abstract

Walking backwards is proposed as a radical design practice as it creates time/spaces in-between needed to counter dominant narratives focused on effectivity. So-called time-saving technologies, instead of creating possibilities for free, spontaneous, unstructured, embodied time, add more time and space for production and consumption. Walking backwards is explored as a relevant practice to learn to work in-between complexities, certainty, and uncertainty. Even though walking is a widely recognised and explored method within the arts and academia, the practice of walking backwards has not been studied for the purposes proposed in this text. The aim is to problematise the notion of efficiency and how it affects how we relate to design and research. Also, to contribute to change by proposing an embodied practice that creates time/spaces to slow down, reflect, and think differently, facilitating designing and researching otherwise. Walking backwards is always done in collaboration with the environment and has the potential to support participatory work with other designers/researchers and participants. It is radical in its accessibility, inclusivity and potential to change how we as designers relate to design and futures.

Keywords

Walking backwards, Design practice, Time/spaces, In-between, Uncertainity

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Conference Track

researchpapers

Share

COinS
 
Jun 12th, 9:00 AM Jun 14th, 5:00 PM

Walking backwards as a radical practice for design

Walking backwards is proposed as a radical design practice as it creates time/spaces in-between needed to counter dominant narratives focused on effectivity. So-called time-saving technologies, instead of creating possibilities for free, spontaneous, unstructured, embodied time, add more time and space for production and consumption. Walking backwards is explored as a relevant practice to learn to work in-between complexities, certainty, and uncertainty. Even though walking is a widely recognised and explored method within the arts and academia, the practice of walking backwards has not been studied for the purposes proposed in this text. The aim is to problematise the notion of efficiency and how it affects how we relate to design and research. Also, to contribute to change by proposing an embodied practice that creates time/spaces to slow down, reflect, and think differently, facilitating designing and researching otherwise. Walking backwards is always done in collaboration with the environment and has the potential to support participatory work with other designers/researchers and participants. It is radical in its accessibility, inclusivity and potential to change how we as designers relate to design and futures.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.