I was invited to write the Thought Leader column for the Lexus Life Magazine July/July 2020 issue where I reflected on “Designing the New Normal.” You can access the article in print on page 2 of the magazine here: https://lexuslife.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Lexus_19_final.pdf “Designing the New Normal | From cars to furniture, housing, clothing, equipment – TECHNOLOGY from here on out is going to need to be considered holistically. The rapid spread of COVID-19 has fuelled an unprecedented rate of change. Many people have taken this forced pause as a moment to reflect on what the new normal might be. This in itself is the crux of design – an opportunity to transform our existing situations into preferred ones. Most people’s homes have become a refuge – and working from home has shown that a more flexible work-life balance is possible. The extended time spent in the home environment has brought about growing … Read More
Innovators for the Future
“As the world lives through a crisis unprecedented in recent history, we launch our first Global Open Call to Action for Innovators for the Future. We solicit your help to turn this severe global challenge into an opportunity – an opportunity to address the urgencies of the moment and the problems of our futures. This Call to Action is organized by the Futures Project as a contribution to the UN75 Global Conversation Initiative.” https://call-for-innovators.futures-project.org/ The Futures Project seeks to identify projects that help communities, building on their motto: “innovation is the future delivered“. You can nominate an initiative you know of, or self-nominate a project you’re affiliated with. They are especially interested in learning about work that may have gone unrecognized on the global stage, whether these initiatives are very recent or more established, provided they are relevant for today and the future. The qualities that they are looking for … Read More
iF Design Foundation 4th Conference – The Future of Design Education
Job profiles of designers around the globe are changing with dramatic speed and educational institutions have to keep track with these changes. How should design education be structured in a way that design graduates can work effectively in the future? To what extent is the current training still applicable – or does it need to go in a completely new direction? If a new type of design college was founded tomorrow, which could fully draw on new sources of inspiration without being restricted by any consideration for old structures – what content and methods would be taught there? I am honoured to have been invited as one of 24 selected experts from Africa and India by the iF Design Foundation to a two-day conference to discuss some of these questions and future of design education. A catalogue of 80 widely diverse questions based on an international study by the iF … Read More
Collaborative People in Challenging Places
These are some thoughts that arose from a request by Prof Ezio Manzini for me to provide some prior input into the DESIS DxCC Seminar on Collaborative People in Challenging Places which took place at the Cumulus Bogotà Conference on the 19 September 2019: “Much of my research engages with individuals who were previously legally marginalised under apartheid, and now even with a majority elected democratic government in place for the last 21 years, continue to find themselves on South Africa’s margins, both physically and politically. Cities in Africa, and South Africa in particular, hold the hope for a better future and hence have been the locations for extensive urban migration. The Gauteng-City Region, where I am based, is home to a quarter of South Africa’s total population. It generates a third of the country’s GDP, on just 2% of South Africa’s total land area. However, such economic stats only speak to those who are formally employed, which in … Read More
GloW-DESIGN ReDesignEd Educators’ Forum
I am honoured to be the opening presentation at the GloW-DESIGN ReDesignEd Educators’ Forum 2019 on Wed 20th of November from 18:00 at the University of Johannesburg, Bunting Road Campus, FADA Auditorium. If you are interested in attending the opening of this international educators’ forum focused on “What We Don’t (or Can’t) Teach — Bridging the Knowledge Gap” please come on through! GloW-DESIGN ReDesignEd Educators’ Forums are where: “Select design education and professional leadership from around the world convene for a global conversation and opportunity to collaborate in an environment that is open-minded and non-affiliated. Together the group explores and actively shapes how design education can be creatively rethought, supported and enhanced to move the field of design forward to begin to reposition the design discipline to be more relevant to the 21st century.” The 2019 theme of “What We Don’t (or Can’t) Teach — Bridging the Knowledge Gap” is a “back-to-basics approach to understanding … Read More
UJ Cloudebate™: Obsolete or absolute? The Academic Thesis in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is currently leading the 4.0 conversation in Africa. One of the ways in which UJ brings 4.0 and the implications it has for society into public discourse is through UJ Cloudebates™. They are “designed to bring together experts from: business, academic faculties, legal practice, the arts and technology together to engage in thought provoking and insightful discussion about how our world is changing and what part we all have to play in this future.” The debates were initiated last year and take a 4.0 topic and unpack it for virtual audiences through experts who participate in the discussion. I am honoured to have been formally invited to be one of the experts for the next theme – “Obsolete or absolute? The Academic Thesis in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” The Cloudebate™ will take place on Wednesday, 10 April 2019 from 18:00 – 19:00 and you will … Read More