I was thrilled to participate in a discussion recently about design education in the 21st century as part of a seminar called: The Revolution Will Be Designed: How do we help design students understand the role they play in design practice worldwide? The event was held in Lisbon, Portugal with the option to participate virtually. A Design Journey: From Lisbon to the World is a project by The Third Floor.
Interview with Jean Gardner | Oct 2022 from Babled Design Studio on Vimeo.
In this interview with Veerle (Aimé Marguérite) Devos, I talk about what the “design revolution” means to me and how embodied experience can transform design and our future on Earth in today’s post-pandemic climate-crisis era.
Q: “The revolution will be designed”… that is quite a statement. What is your understanding of this topic?
A: For me, design has always been – its purpose – is to align what we make with Earth’s systems. When I use the word revolution, I mean that it is recognizing today that we can’t survive without aligning ourselves with these Earth systems. Why? Because design has forgotten its relationship to the Earth. At my NGO Earth Group Global we demonstrate that in today’s post-pandemic climate-crisis era it is imperative that we create a new narrative that is within an Earth-based design education revolution. We have got to put ourselves within Earth’s systems. We can’t design as if we were outside of it. So that’s what a “design revolution” means to me.
To watch the full interview, click to launch the video above.
Design has never had an opportunity like this… on this scale – the scale of the entire Earth. As we revolutionize design, there are no ready-made answers. But we do know that our very future depends upon it.
-Jean Gardner
Interview with Veerle Aimé Marguérite Devos – Journalist, biographical writer and city guide in Lisbon: www.walkandtalkbio.com, www.lisboneye.eu, www.todieforportugal.com