‘Pragmatic Intellectuals: Enlarging the Centre of Design’

Honours project & exegesis, Bachelor of Media and Communications (Honours) 2023 RMIT

SUMMARY

‘Pragmatic Intellectuals’ is my Honours creative project and exegesis woven together into one book. It is an amalgamation of literature analysis, self-reflection, and creative practice, that seeks to explore the question:
‘How can a communication designer contribute to the reparation of the ‘ecological emergency’ through the field of Biodesign?’
This question manifested from the one I was asking myself at the beginning of the year: as a designer, how can I make a positive impact on something I care about?

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A BIT MORE

Hinted in my project title, Paola Antonelli suggests designers must marry the pragmatic nature of design with intellectual concepts such as theory, history and philosophy, to become ‘well-rounded agents of change.’ In the context of Biodesign and eco-conscious persuits, this means decentering the ‘human’ in design approaches, and enlarging the centre to encompass all biology.
As expected, Biodesign, the ecological emergency, and making positive change are complex themes. In fact, there is no sole or simple answer to my research question. However, a key learning from this research, is that the desire to learn and understand, is the most important tool required to make a positive impact.