DESIGN 231 BLOG 4: TRANSITION DESIGN

TRANSITION DESIGN

WHAT IS TRANSITION DESIGN?

Transition design is a design approach focusing on the need for societal transitions to more sustainable futures (Irwin et al., 2015). Professor Terry Irwin proposed this design method at Carnegie Mellon University, challenging the existing design paradigms by basing its structure on multiple complex systems.

Transition Design Framework (Carnegie Mellon University, 2015)

The transition design framework consists of four components; it provides the factors needed to trigger systematic change on a macro-level. The four components are inter-connected, creating a dynamic loop to inspire and amplify the current solutions to achieve the feasible future vision.

• VISION FOR TRANSITION: Transition design proposes concepts to create room for discussion for the alternative future. These visions are open-ended and primarily derived from local communities and the social conditions of the surroundings.

• THEORIES OF CHANGE: This is a crucial domain within the transition design framework. A well-planned course of action always contains a theory that embodies the change that might happen soon. And to transition society into a sustainable one, fundamental change is required. Breaking the conventional ideas is the first step to tackling wicked problems in our society.

• POSTURE AND MINDSET: Each individual and collective mindset is shaped by personal experience, religious beliefs, cultural norms, and the socio-political environment that an individual lives in. These mindsets directly influence designers when they perform creative activities. Thus transdisciplinary collaboration is essential in transition design.

• NEW WAYS OF DESIGNING: Transition design solves wicked problems toward a future base scope. Thus transitional designers must cultivate a comprehensive understanding of local socio and eco-environment. All of the design solutions are a pathway to enable the vision of the future; the designer also needs to possess the ability to connect and amplify the place-based solutions.

Backcasting Visualisation (Carnegie Mellon University, 2015)

Although speculative design and transition design both being future-oriented methods. The two design methods are different in how they prospect the future and their process of the solution to tackle the problem. Speculative design does not have to base on the dynamic change of the present to forecast a feasible future, while transition design needs to have a specific focal point. On the other head, transition design is implemented to solve a long-term problem, and speculative does not have to.

Transition design utilizes a systematic framework to solve complex societal issues while engaging the present circumstances. Transition design guides people to think of the possibilities of the future by considering the practical surroundings, and the outcome will have to bring change to every level of the specific problem. The backcasting approach gives the transitional design advantage in carefully evaluating the future depicted through brainstorming.

However, transition design does have limitations. Since transition design aims to provoke societal change for a complex problem, people's lifestyles will change accordingly as the solution influences every aspect of the existing social structure. Designing place-based solutions for people from different backgrounds would be hard to implement. Plus, it is a relatively new design practice compared to critical or service design; it would take a long time for transition design to become the mainstream of design.

CASE STUDY: URBAN SUN

The urban sun is an architectural installation designed by Roosegaarde studio; the design is aimed to create a clean public space without worrying about infecting coronavirus. The studio collaborated with experts in other fields to find a specific light wavelength that is safe for humans and animals and can sterilize the environment by killing coronavirus and influenza. The project shows light with a yellow ring glowing around the circle's edge, visualizing the protection area and the corona. The installation is currently on a world tour, starting from Netherland.

Urban Sun by Roosegaarde [Official Trailer]

The project offers a practical solution for re-building public face-to-face relations in the post-pandemic era. With the presence of Urban Sun, people can regain the "trust" between people established during the pre-pandemic time. The design provides a vision of possible new ways of communication in the seeable future. It might not be the ultimate cure for the virus. But it provides a safe space for people to walk out from the curated social media bubbles that almost continued for 2 years. And the influence of this installation might be carried on to the next generation and eventually change the existing reality.

Urban Sun (Roosegaarde Studios, n.d)

CASE STUDY: PURPOSE OF LIFE IN KYOTO, 2050

The Purpose of Life in 2050 from Kyoto by IWABUCHI & MiZUNO (June 2020)

The purpose of life in 2050 from Kyoto is a case study conducted by product designer Masaki Iwabuchi and Professor Daijiro Mizuno. Together, they identified some of the most urgent problems in the Japanese context. Then they applied the transitional design approach. Firstly they mapped out the wicked problems and explore the project stakeholders to identify the roots of the problems. After classifying the problems into specific categories, Iwabuchi and Mizuno envisioned a future where social credibility and spiritual values would be more valuable than physical wealth (money and luxury goods). They backcast the vision by drawing references from the lifestyle of nobles in the Heian Era. After applying the transition design approach, Iwabuchi and Mizuno materialized three future lifestyles and organized them into a 5 minutes history program that could be broadcast in the future.

This successful case shows the application of transition design when speculating the society and lifestyles in the future. It achieved the goals that the transition framework set for designers, and the project visualizes a scenario that conveys the experiences and values of change in a social transition. Each step of the process is well-constructed and executed that presenting a long-term change that could possibly happen.

Images of Speculation of The Purpose of Life in 2050 from Kyoto by IWABUCHI & MiZUNO (2019)

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REFERENCES

Irwin. (2015, September 28). Transition design: A proposal for a new area of design practice, study, and research. Taylor & Francis. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17547075.2015.1051829

Roosegaarde. (n.d.). Studio Roosegaarde. News | Studio Roosegaarde. https://www.studioroosegaarde.net/project/urban-sun

Scarlett BuckleyPublished 1 year ago.About a 5 minute read.Image: Studio Roosegaarde. (2021, July 12). The urban sun: A light at the end of the Covid Tunnel? Sustainable Brands. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://sustainablebrands.com/read/product-service-design-innovation/the-urban-sun-a-light-at-the-end-of-the-covid-tunnel

Iwabuchi, M. (2019, September 2). Case study on transition design: Speculation of life in 2050 from Kyoto (part 1). Medium. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://medium.com/predict/case-study-on-transition-design-speculation-of-life-in-2050-from-kyoto-part-1-118cb06b15d

Iwabuchi, M. (2019, September 2). Case study on transition design: Speculation of life in 2050 from Kyoto (part 2). Medium. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://medium.com/predict/case-study-on-transition-design-speculation-of-life-in-2050-from-kyoto-part-2-f6653c4e800c