Changing the change

In Spanish, Design is written with ñ, Diseño, and although it could sound… banal, that ñ gives account of an original way to face the world.
That single letter talks about a huge difference regarding the way in which design is assumed, because for us, in the countries where the ñ is used, design is the art of “darse maña” (meaning the ability to use ones “knacks” to solve a given challenge).

The inventors of this funny letter were monks who had to fit just one metallic movable type, instead of two, in the mechanical press; they gave themselves the “maña” to make the sound (usually written with gn or nh) fit that single space…

Now, how many monks or “mañosos” are there going to be attending the CtC conference?

Would the activation of “maña” offer new insights regarding possibilities to improve life conditions in urban dwellings?
An initial answer is what I would like to share here by means of a personal exploration during the PhD research.

As a student, I remember having arrived in Italy with lots of expectations among which, the idea of learning about “sustainable” supermarkets being this idea a clear sign of my lack of vision regarding the way in which the design practice has stuck on mainstream possibilities of producing with LCA standards, eco-materials, etc., a way that neglects the urgency to develop a design culture and thus hinders the real need for research.

While being immersed in the design world, and while starting to address the relevance of looking the “mañosos” ways in a series of case study cities, I found out that a hybrid car, a more accurate LCA, a “sustainable” supermarket do help, but are not the actual solution; indeed it seems that what is needed is having design as a prompter of creative behaviours at a private/personal scale so that “users” feel encouraged to change, to fit into the planetary limited conditions; design/diseño then can help awaking user’s “non-professional” creativity (their mañas), to solve on self-basis daily needs. And this, let’s face it, will not “extinct” designers, rather than that, it will open brand new possibilities.
Along the way I found designers feeling threatened because, “if we don’t give shape to a product or a service then: what are we called to do?!”. For many, design is call to develop eco-products, toolkits, guidelines… but fortunately those stances are changing. Nowadays it is acknowledgeable that designers could help users not just to consume “better” but, to consume less.

I hope that the CtC will not be a moment to blissful talk and easily agreement but that discussions and positive disagreements (between designers coming from all over the world and thus using all sorts of eñes”) take place, so that the resulting agenda (which undeniable addresses a political phenomena) help us to face the “mañana” (Spanish for tomorrow) with more…: maña.

This article was co-written by Ezio Manzini and Claudio Germak.

The issues Changing the Change deals with, regard several aspects of peoples’ lives: from food, to health, from residence to mobility, from work to tourism. General visions (the way these activities could be rearranged in terms of sustainability) and specific solutions (the way specific problems could be solved) will be presented for each of them.

This core of visions and proposals provides the material for discussing the meaning of design research. But not only this. It gives an immediate and constructive contribution to the way to sustainability and to what can be done to direct accelerate it. This is the main aim of the Conference, not just thought for the researchers’ community that is currently working on these topics, but also for enterprises and social actors who promote, or should do so, this transition.

In facts, nowadays everybody is discussing about the great and fast changes of our time. Many (at last!) talk about the need to move towards sustainable lifestyles and manufacture processes. But few elaborates visions and proposals about possible practices, starting from today. This is the concrete and constructive stage where design research can provide and effective contribution, by developing a sharable, increasing design knowledge which is focused on possible solutions. A kind of knowledge which can support specific design activities involving many different actors, as it should be every sustainable solution.

Unfortunately, not everybody agrees with the last statement. As it has been said before, enterprises, associations and public bodies are starting to realise that the transition to sustainability concerns the future, but it must be based on effective current actions as well. On the other hand, it is not yet so clear for them what design research could offer in this field. We think we shall raise this issue and focus many actors’ attention on it. And this is what Changing the Change is meant to do.