Category: Design for sustainability
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Graphical abstracts: great advertising?
I was at an interdisciplinary professional development session last week exchanging tips on how early career academics could promote newly published journal articles to various audiences, academic, policy and even ‘normal people’. In a lull in the discussion of social media and industry newsletters I said, ‘And you could of course always create a graphical…
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Campus Life_1: our green spaces
Walton Hall Campus As a 4 nation university we may sometimes forget that we have a central campus in Milton Keynes. Academics, technicians and administrators – the wearers of muddy boots on a building site in the early 1970s – today have the benefit of working in a green and diverse landscape covering 111 acres…
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Energy Performance Certificate Reform: Mighty Metrics!
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are required whenever homes are sold or let in the UK. The initial aim of EPCs was to provide a simple method for prospective occupants to compare and benchmark the energy and environment impact of homes, and to provide advice on potential improvements. EPCs rank a home’s performance from A (highest)…
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The designerly dance of the electric vehicle chargers
Just before lockdown, I and my colleagues Matt Cook and Miguel Valdez were involved in a research bid in response to an Innovate UK call to address the problem of on-street charging for electric vehicles. EV take-up had been predominantly by people who could charge their cars in their drive or garage. For others, charging…
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Design for Planet Festival 2024
This article was written on 15th November 2024 On 6th November, I had the privilege of attending the Design Council’s Design for Planet Festival 2024 in Manchester, where designers, studios, and businesses came together with the aim of working towards a net-zero future. The event was opened by inspiring leaders including Andy Burnham, Mayor of…
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Transformative Learning for Sustainable Transitions
Inner Development Goals (IDG) Annual Summit in Stockholm This week, the non-profit initiative Inner Development Goals (IDG) held its annual summit in Stockholm. The goal of IDG is to harness the power of inner development to tackle global challenges, such as those outlined by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The IDG community has developed a framework…
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Why Carbon Literacy Training Matters
What is Carbon Literacy Training you might wonder? It is a programme designed to educate people on how their everyday activities create carbon impacts and how these can be reduced. It is currently available for all staff and students at the Open University to undertake for free. It involves approximately 4 hours of self-study…
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(Design) ecologies for learning and practice
In this post I acknowledge the contributions of Schumacher College to current shifts toward life-centred design and ‘design for planet’, show how Schumacher exemplifies the concept of ecologies for learning and practice, and draw out insights of value for our new B.Design in development. Collapsing and re-organising In late August 2024 the trustees of Dartington…
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Adventures in design: a curiosity-driven career
Taking the plunge to study for a career in any field is a bold and purposeful step in life. To pursue a creative career takes perhaps an even bolder leap of faith when the array of potential work roles is so diverse and constantly evolving. Design roles today are no exception. More younger adults are…
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Food, shelter and re-designing home
As a new resident in Milton Keynes, I’ve brought along my decades-long curiosity about how people live day to day and how they organise themselves in different places and cultures to meet needs for food and shelter. Since neither can be guaranteed for all people anywhere in a world of deepening inequality, designers committed to…