Creating the tools to become more responsible designers and changemakers.
In 2022, UNSW Art Design and Architecture’s Innovation Hub partnered with internationally renowned designers Bruce Mau and Aiyemobisi (Bisi) Williams of Massive Change Network® (MCN) to host MASSIVE ACTION Sydney (MAS).
In September 2022, I was fortunate to be chosen as part of the student “Translation Team” for the month long design sprint. We were tasked with harnessing our collective skillset and generational insights to disseminate our translation of Bruce Mau’s 24 Massive Change principles of life-centred design. We aimed to inspire, inform, mobilise and motivate young people and future generations to take positive action using the principles as a framework for addressing some of today’s most pressing issues.
All of our projects were underpinned by Mau’s 24 principles of Massive Change. These principles acted as a toolkit of values that guided the design process and helped us challenge ourselves throughout this process.
Through intensive workshops with MCN, we designed concepts that promote strategic impact, value and accelerate the movement towards sustainable change. Over the course of the month, we turned provocations into radical real-world plans.
I am proud to have been a part of the “re-situ” team with a group of driven, value-aligned students. It was one of the most intellectually stimulating, collaborative, supportive teams that made me hungry for similar experiences of multi-disciplinary collaboration. We reflected, challenged each other to unlearn and confront unconscious biases and relearn. The experience fostered a pride in being a “designer” and the power that design has as a tool for positive change and impact.
The 2022 design sprint culminated in an Open Showcase where we presented the provocations that we had designed over the course of that month. I was fortunate to represent the student team and read our team manifesto which to this day informs my approach to design.
The re-situ team’s project urged people to “What if knowledge was re-situated in place?” proposing an open-source, multi-media, place-based platform that revolutionises the way we learn and interact with diverse knowledges and wisdom. We envisioned an inclusive, accessible, local, community-based platform that encourages unlearning and relearning for non-Indigenous peoples who have become disconnected from Country fostering a stronger personal connection and care for the environments we inhabit. We aimed for the project to be a “trojan horse” by using existing systems and forms for reach in the current system with the aim of breaking through and presenting a radical and beautiful new alternative to how we engage with knowledge and learn.
Following the Open Showcase, I represented the student team at the Innovation Hub’s End of Year Showcase and presented in the UNSW’s Education Festival in the section titled, “Empowering students to be agents of change”.
In September 2023, Bronte Contador-Kelsall and I reignited the “re-situ” project with funding from the Innovation Hub. We embarked on a series of consultations with Celeste Carnegie of Indigitek to reflect, refine and redefine the concept for a real-world scenario. During this process, we deconstructed our original idea and created new parameters for what was possible for the project based on deep research.
In February 2024, we presented our concept at UNSW’s Unconvention where we had the pleasure of connecting with change-makers and industry professionals.
At the end of 2024, we paused the project and engaged Maria Thaddea (who was part of the original re-situ team) to design the animation that captured the essence of the project and created an open-ended invitation and provocation. I invite you to read more about the final concept below and view the animation.
Our strategy…
What if we had a digital platform that...
Connected us with the different perspectives and knowledge systems around us, and suggested the tools and resources we need to reflect on our practice and unlearn limiting beliefs and bias?
What if we had a digital platform that…
Was a safe space to show up and ask questions, to challenge our perceptions and foster an open mindset where we can evolve and build greater cultural and historical awareness?
What if we had a digital platform that…
Used emerging technologies to encourage and guide our personal learning journey, creating a community of more attuned and respectful designers and changemakers?
This is what re-situ envisions.
Our progress…
The re-situ team undertook a period of consultation to challenge and strengthen their initial concept that emerged following the 2022 Massive Action Sydney design sprint. The team socialised the concept and proposed next steps at the 2024 Unconvention to a group of industry stakeholders and potential collaborators.
At a high level, the proposed next steps were as follows:
Design and commence research to further understand the current state:
How do designers reflect on their practice, question their assumptions and understand reflexivity?
What tools are currently in use and why aren’t they used widely?
Continue conversations with potential new partners and collaborators:
How can we design a meaningful user journey?
What technology will enhance this?
How can the chosen platform support and engage designers in their learning journey?
Develop a prototype:
How can we use emerging technology to bring the concept to life?
How can we create a learning community in the platform by design?
Pilot the platform on a small scale (for example, with UNSW design students) in collaboration with specialists.
It has been a pleasure to be a part of re-situ and MAS collaboration over the past few years. A special thanks to my wonderful co-lead, Bronte Contador-Kelsall, for the project facilitator Emma Mills and to our consultant Celeste Carnegie. Thank you to the Innovation Hub team, the Massive Change Network and the talented student Massive Action Sydney team.
The problem…
Mainstream design, architecture and art has historically privileged Anglo-European perspectives and marginalised First Nations and many other knowledge systems and practices. This imbalance has contributed to many of the systemic crises we face today.
As designers, we bear a responsibility to make informed decisions that support the sustainment of life. Our work must consider the broader ecosystems and local contexts we engage with. It is crucial that we question our assumptions and critically examine how our worldview shapes our personal and professional practices on an ongoing basis.
Shifting entrenched patterns of thinking and behaviour is essential if we are to create meaningful change. Without consciously addressing deep-rooted biases – both within individuals and institutions – we risk undermining efforts to create truly transformative solutions.
While many organisations and individuals are championing more critical, divergent and interconnected ways of thinking, these ideas have yet to be widely embraced. There is no singular method, checklist or toolkit for navigating this shift – it is a lifelong journey.
The challenge now is: how can we embed this ongoing process into every designer’s mindset and workflow to become more proactive, intentional and responsible in our practices?
