Deep design and engineers conscience: a global primer for design education

This is the first paper to frame the broad objectives of 'natural design' and provides a global perspective for a new design context. It argues for an expanded notion of design in order to provide a more appropriate context for a future in which there are many global crises to be faced and, as conventional design has contributed to these crises, then it should also be beholden to seek to find more appropriate solutions. This is normally referred to as the 'sustainability question' but the paper argues that this is now an abused concept which has only narrowed the context for design once again. The paper reflects and updates the work of Meredith Thring (1980) and re-examines his notion of a creative society. In doing so it explores his postulated relationship between standard of living and quality of life as a parabolic (inverted U) curve and the implication this has for design as a whole. The paper briefly alludes to design principles which have their source in ecology and suggests that this provides a basis for design to work in harmony with the natural world in seeking a co-evolutionary solution. The paper recommends that design education should be re-contextualised in order to make a greater and more effective contribution to a future global society. This approach is referred to as 'natural design'. Evidence: Published conference proceedings containing paper