Panel 2, which focuses on sustainability and futures studies in design, will kick off with two presentations.

More information on registration will be available shortly.
Click here for the symposium program overview.

Lecture I

This lecture will be held in German.

Against the backdrop of current sustainability and transformation debates, this presentation explores how visions of the future are created in design and which values, aspirations, and conflicts shape them. It introduces the concept of Design from Discard (DfD) as an approach that critically challenges dominant circular future narratives. Building on the field of Discard Studies (Liboiron & Lepawsky, 2022), DfD understands waste not as the failure of circular systems or individual behavior, but as an expression of social power relations, cultural norms, and material inequalities. The presentation focuses on practices of discarding, sorting out, and rendering invisible as key dimensions of societal positioning and potential transformation. Drawing on a design theory of waste (Ritzmann, 2018), it discusses how alternative futures can emerge that rely not only on technological optimization but also on changing meanings, values, and everyday practices. Through a series of examples, the presentation presents counter-narratives to dominant sustainability visions and argues for a more critical and reflective approach to futures research in design.

Liboiron, M. & Lepawsky, J. (2022). Discard studies: wasting, systems, and power. The MIT Press.
Ritzmann, S. (2018). Wegwerfen │ Entwerfen: Müll im Designprozess – Nachhaltigkeit in der Designdidaktik. De Gruyter.

Lecture II

This lecture will be held in German.

This presentation provides an overview of Participatory Design Futuring, an emerging field in which designers empower diverse stakeholders to collaboratively envision and negotiate more sustainable futures through design. Central to this approach is the participatory development of future scenarios that are tangible, experiential, and emotionally resonant, thereby motivating decision-makers in business, politics, and civil society to take action. Through a structured creative process, methods drawn from futures studies, speculative design, and mediation support systematic and analytical engagement with multiple possible futures simultaneously. Using sustainable urban mobility transitions as a case study, the presentation demonstrates that residents’ competing concerns and conflicting visions for the future do not necessarily lead to an impasse. Instead, scenario methods transform conflict into a productive resource and a foundation for generating richer, more liveable scenarios. Various creativity tools further expand the capacity to imagine improved futures that reflect the realities of everyday life. This challenges the notion of a single, inevitable future and underscores that exploring, imagining, and negotiating multiple possible futures – a practice grounded in futures literacy – is itself a fundamental design task.

• Dr. Beatrice Barrois