This is my first entry in what will become my process book for Transformation Design, a new course offering in the new MFA Communications Design program at Pratt.
The course will include exploration into the term ‘transformation design’ itself, and mapping the trend by considering historical aspects, major players and influences. Major questions that we will continue to explore: 1. Is transformation design/design thinking a new paradigm or a reframing of already existing processes? 2. What is the real value of designers in today’s world? How do I personally define myself as a designer?
At the 2009 Lift Conference in France, John Thackara suggests innovation needs to produce more of these two things: 1. tools to remove the digital blindspot between our bodies and the planet, and see more clearly the effect humans are having on the biosphere, and 2. tools and platforms to help us share resources in a radically more effective way.
I think that transformation design is another way of describing innovation with sensitivity to future generations. I have been an environmentalist for as long as I can remember, and would like my work as a designer to reflect that. I would like to contribute to the creation of the tools of innovation that Thackara describes.