Design approach 3: Transition design
Transition design
Transition design is a design framework that allows us to think about change and how there is a “need for societal transitions to more sustainable futures”. A framework that is designed to help solve some of the wicked problems of the current by thinking of the possible future where the problem is solved and backcasting from the future into our current. Then creating designs within our current would lead to the potential future where the problems are solved.
The framework works within four different phases which link around each other.
It creates Visions for the Transition, this being informed with new knowledge about the environment.
Theories of Change will be theories from many different topics that allow for a better understanding of how change can occur within our world.
This will then help impact our Posture and Mindset, which is to be more open and mindful, to be willing to change and work together.
The last phase is the New Ways of Designing, which creates new frameworks and methods of design that can then affect the new visions.
This differs from the Double Diamond framework as the double diamond doesn't focus on the future or how to positively impact the future by fixing the current problems. Transition design also looks to fixing the wicked problems (the problems of our current society), where the double diamond is used to fix a problem of anything given by the client/target audience.
Transition also looks into a better future to then backcast, unlike how the double diamond looks at a problem and goes from the problem to the outcome.
Transition design is similar to speculative design in the way they both look into potential futures and how open-ended they could be. However, transition design looks to clove the wicked problems of today and not explore our options on the potential worlds that the future could hold. This gives the transition to design a more problem solving edge and a more impactful way of outcome with its framework.
Transition design is similar to speculative design when they are both compared with indigenous futurism. Either of the frameworks looks specifically into indigenous futurism or looks more into cultures. The transitional design, however, does look into the wicked problems which can make this framework more linked with everyone, including both the privileged and unrepresented.
Strengths
Some strengths of this design framework bridge the problem-solving nature of the main design framework of the double diamond while also allowing for more freedom and creativity in speculative design. It is a design framework that allows for changes in the future to fix our common and wicked problems of the current. This design framework is much more practical than speculative design.
Limitations
Transition design has some limitations as it links back to the present and how the present could be changed into the desired future, making it so that the amount of potential futures created is more limited than, for example, speculative design.
Due to how it links back with the present, the technologies of the current date the possible futures, as can be seen within illustrations of the past. These illustrations had ideas of what the future could have, and each of the designs was made with the technologies of their time.
Case study
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PHANTOR is a product designed to help with the problem of storage of clean drinking water. This problem is seen in the global risks report from the World economic forum where it had said “The global water crisis is one of the greatest threats humanity will face over the next few decades”.
Methods of getting clean drinking water currently are not as sustainable as desalination, the act of removing minerals/salt from the water leaving toxic brine and using up large amounts of energy. It is also a method that can only be done near coasts. As well as due to the consumption of oil, fracking, oil fields, and oil transports affect the groundwater.
This led to the PHANTOR being designed, a machine that can extract water from the air and create drinking water. This is an atmospheric water generator. The product can generate up to 10,000L of water from the air. The PHANTOR is also a mobile product, making it so that it can be moved and placed in remote areas.
I found this case study to be interesting and successful, with the way it helps improve the problem of water shortages and helps the environment with the method they use to implement the drinking water. Water storage is a problem within the current and affects humans directly. However, this product also helps the environment with the lessened usage of energy and method of collection.
By taking water from the atmosphere instead of the main sources of water that are usually thought of, such as the ground waters. I found the idea of atmospheric water generators very interesting, as it isn't usually thought of how much water there is within the air.
The mobile nature of the product also helps allow it to help many people as it doesn't depend on the placement of the product, allowing it to be placed on islands and remote areas.
References:
Carnegie Mellon University. (2015). Carnegie Mellon School of Design. https://design.cmu.edu/sites/default/files/Transition_Design_Monograph_final.pdf
PHANTOR - The Mobile Water Giant. (2022, June 30). Imhotep Industries. https://imhotep.industries/en/
Solutions for the energy revolution. (2022, January 24). Neoom Group. https://www.neoom.group/en/