Design With Others

During this seminar, we've been introduced to themes like power structures, inclusivity, and sustainability through essential concepts as otherness, individual and collective agency, and degrowth.

Day I: Design Justice with Dr. Marta Delatte

On the first day, we had the privilege of hearing from guest lecturer Dr. Marta Delatte, who introduced the concept of "How to do things with Design Justice." Her discussion emphasized the crucial roles of inclusivity and representation in shaping societies and highlighted how power structures significantly influence the frameworks we live within.

Dr. Delatte also presented the Matrix of Domination, a theoretical model crafted by Patricia Hill Collins. This framework provides a comprehensive way to analyze the interplay of privilege and oppression across various dimensions, offering a holistic perspective on social hierarchies and inequalities.

Structural Domain

The structural domain organizes oppression through large-scale social institutions that reinforce systemic inequalities, such as segregated neighborhoods limiting educational and job opportunities for Black women. Empowerment in this domain requires transforming these institutions by acknowledging and addressing the unequal outcomes tied to race, gender, and class.

Disciplinary Domain

This domain manages oppression through the rules, policies, and surveillance practices of social institutions, which control and monitor marginalized populations, such as Black feminist scholars. Resistance within this domain demands internal efforts to challenge these practices and reclaim power from within organizational structures.

Hegemonic Domain

Hegemony operates through dominant ideologies and cultural norms that justify and normalize systemic inequalities, often internalized even by subordinated groups. Empowerment here involves rejecting these societal definitions, fostering critical consciousness, and redefining marginalized identities on one’s own terms.

Interpersonal Domain

The interpersonal domain manifests in everyday interactions where individuals, often unconsciously, uphold the subordination of others through micro-level practices. Empowerment in this domain requires adopting a sociological imagination to transform relationships and challenge exploitative or objectifying behaviors.

As exercise at the end of the lesson, we've been divided into groups to work on a case study through the matrix of domination. My group proposes "Hostility (Hostile Architecture) in public spaces."

Structural

Public power often commissions design solutions that act as tools of control, prioritizing the interests of a small privileged group while masking or ignoring real problems. In many cases, design is wielded to obscure the needs and issues of marginalized populations, rendering them "invisible" in ways that align with the preferences of those in power. By deliberately shaping solutions to benefit the few, some designers contribute to perpetuating systemic inequalities, highlighting how design can be both a mechanism of oppression and a means of reinforcing existing power structures.

Disciplinary

Power imbalances are perpetuated by the use of class and bureaucratic power to favor specific solutions. Bureaucracy functions as a hostile design system, where the exclusion of affected populations from the design process is not incidental but an intentional feature of what can be described as "Kafkaesque design." Non-profit processes are often made unnecessarily complex and opaque compared to the streamlined and transparent processes designed for high-profit ventures.

In public spaces, benches serve as an example of product design, while public bureaucracy reflects system design, a structure engineered to maintain control and prioritize the interests of the few over the needs of the many. This intentional complexity within bureaucracy underscores how design can be wielded as a tool of exclusion and power consolidation.

Hegemonic

Many people mistakenly assume that design-oriented solutions are inherently good and logical. However, throughout history, those in positions of power have typically come from similar ethnic and social backgrounds, reinforcing a hegemonic ideological system. This "hegemonic bundle" mechanism simplifies complex social concepts through generalization and massification, reducing nuanced issues into oversimplified categories.

Those in power often label ideas they disagree with, such as by branding them as "woke", and frame every issue as part of a larger antagonistic ideology. This strategy not only dismisses dissenting perspectives but also undermines meaningful discourse, making it easier to marginalize ideas that challenge the status quo.

Interpersonal

Class discrimination plays a crucial role in shaping dominant ideologies and prevailing schools of thought. Those in power often use classist perspectives to influence societal norms and values, reinforcing existing power structures. This discrimination not only perpetuates inequality but also increases the negative perception of the social problems associated with marginalized classes. By framing these issues through a biased lens, class discrimination amplifies stigmas and stereotypes, making it easier to dismiss or devalue the struggles faced by disadvantaged groups. As a result, social problems are often misunderstood or vilified, further entrenching the inequalities they are meant to address.

Day II: Eemeemee - Enclave Micopirata Mutante

The Enclave Micopirata Mutante (eemeemee) embodies the principles of collaboration and mutualism, serving as a decentralized community network dedicated to sharing knowledge and practices in DIY mycology. Through distributed nodes, eemeemee facilitates asynchronous yet interconnected activities, creating a space where participants explore alternative frameworks for ecological and social interactions. The Wetlab at Hangar is one of the primary venues where this collective gathers to conduct research and connect with related projects.

This initiative aligns with broader themes of "otherness" and identity explored during the "Design with Others" course. Discussions delved into how organisms like fungi and slime molds exemplify mutualism over competition, challenging capitalist paradigms and inspiring bio-informed design practices. Projects like Marzia’s exploration of cultivating mycelium from her body blur boundaries between the self and environment, while Oscar’s work with slime molds demonstrates their potential to inspire problem-solving through complex networks.

By integrating the lessons of eemeemee with critical concepts like intersectionality and epistemic decolonization, the importance of embracing diverse perspectives and alternative knowledge systems becomes clear. Eemeemee’s practices provide a tangible model of inclusive, community-driven design that challenges hierarchies and celebrates symbiotic relationships as a foundation for empowerment and innovation.

Day III: Mutan Monkeys

Laura’s exploration in the Sound Lab delves deeply into how speculative fiction and design can be transformative tools. She references the idea of imagining “plausible, preferable, and possible futures” as articulated by speculative designers like Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby. Fiction, in her view, is not only a narrative device but also a critical lens for addressing systemic issues by projecting utopian or dystopian futures to challenge the present's status quo.

She critiques constructs like borders as "perverse fictions" with dire hyperreal consequences, highlighting their roles in perpetuating biopolitical and necropolitical violence. Her discourse also reflects on the artistic and philosophical intersections of speculative practices. She advocates for experimenting with living materials and technologies, presenting them as extensions of the human experience and critical tools for rethinking societal norms.

A pivotal part of Laura's dialogue is her emphasis on situated epistemologies, a concept drawn from Donna Haraway. She argues that knowledge is deeply rooted in its social, cultural, and material context and critiques universalist approaches that ignore diversity and power dynamics. This philosophy is exemplified in initiatives like Open Source Estrogen, which not only challenge biotechnological control but also engage queer, feminist, and anti-colonial perspectives.

Her emphasis on experimentation and co-creation within the Sound Lab aligns with fostering critical dialogues, expanding the scope of design beyond traditional boundaries, and engaging with both human and non-human agents in meaningful ways.

Good Praxis

The last day of Design With Others emphasized a shift from the concept of "otherness" toward "togetherness," focusing on collective interdependence rather than individualism. One of the standout projects, TransPlant, demonstrated how technology, such as NFC chips, could be repurposed and hacked to subvert control systems. This approach aligns with Karen Barad’s theory of intra-action, which highlights how relationships themselves transform through interaction.

The discussion also delved into third landscapes, with Barcelona’s Carmel bunkers serving as an example of spaces where mutualism can thrive, offering opportunities for reterritorialization outside traditional Darwinian competition. Arnau’s presentation on degrowth art further underscored the importance of minimizing consumption and championing low-tech, socially focused design solutions.

These discussions raised critical questions about sustainability: Who truly benefits from these efforts? Are the relationships formed through this work reciprocal or exploitative? Arnau shared his personal boundaries, such as his decision to avoid flying, illustrating the balance between adhering to principles and maintaining personal well-being. Together, these ideas reinforced the need to approach sustainability not only as an ecological goal but as a deeply relational and ethical practice.

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Key Works and References

• Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby: Speculative Design practices.

• Ursula K. Le Guin: Science fiction narratives; quote from her advocacy of alternative societal models.

• Donna Haraway: Situated Knowledges, Modest_Witness@Second_Millennium.

• Critical Art Ensemble: Bioparanoia and the Culture of Control (2011).

• Tactical Biopolitics: Art, Activism, and Technoscience: Compilation of essays on biotechnological interventions in art and design.

• Mary Maggic: Open Source Estrogen project.

• Nick Bostrom: Transhumanism as defined in his philosophical work.

• Julian Huxley: Early texts linking transhumanism to eugenics (e.g., "Transhumanism").

• Klaus Kinki: AnarchaGland project exploring the histories of gynecology.