The Impact of Climate Change on Design Thinking

One must always proceed with humility when predicting the future. Events rarely play out precisely as we imagine they might. But here are the elements of the next 25 years in art and design that I feel most confident about. 

First, the number of people who identify as designers will expand, as “design thinking”—a creative problem-solving process that was never exclusive to designers, but is perhaps best exemplified by them—becomes ubiquitous. The myriad challenges posed by climate change will, and already do, demand both creative problem-solving and the fast iteration of possible solutions. This is precisely how designers are trained to engage with the world. Their skills in this regard will be paramount. 

While many of us rightly feel that our societies have failed to sufficiently acknowledge the threats posed by climate change, things will change on this front. Every government, every industry, and every company will find itself rapidly transitioning towards an embrace of sustainable materials, climate-conscious considerations of all varieties, and even active micro, or in some cases macro, efforts intended to slow the rate of climate transformation. This will require a reimagination of almost every product and system. Designers will be central to each of these efforts

Designers and fine artists will also be working with, or at times against, Artificial Intelligence. AI will expand the reach of every individual creative, allowing them to make new work at a pace and scale that is impossible today. While many artists and designers will employ AI for these purposes, it is likely that others will use this new technology to deconstruct its human and material impacts. Additionally, the evolution of Virtual Reality technology will result in new and exciting forms of art and design. Interactive, probably in many cases narrative, experiential VR art and entertainment will become common.

As technology evolves to bring us new tools with which to make art and design, traditional forms will persist. Handmade, material works will remain prized, and will be accompanied by the intellectual inquiry that we recognize as essential. The artists and designers of the near future will both reflect on and activate the political, social, and technological changes they wish to promote in the world. While the conditions will be new, this quality will of course persist.