Design has a central role to play in the problem of consumption. Everything we consume has been designed — whether it is to create a desire, to meet a practical need, to follow a norm, or to win a race to the bottom — steps have been taken along the way that involved a design decision. But what if the criteria for designing for consumption was different?

In his book ‘Post Growth: Life After Capitalism’, Tim Jackson states that ‘excess’ is as dangerous for human wellbeing as ‘deficiency’, making the case for a more balanced approach, he argues that working with limitations (such as the need to live within planetary boundaries and respect the natural systems we have) can lead us to being more creative and innovative not less.

During this course we will disentangle some of the more tricky questions about designing for consumption — If we prioritise natural systems can we still have nice things? Can we all have what we want or only some of us? And we will take apart some of the building blocks of design for consumption in order to see how together we can rebuild them.

Half the course will be taken up with a combination of input and learning and trying out different methods and the other half will be pursuing your own projects for the final presentation, this split focus will be reflected in the final grade.

Five weeks of input will be roughly structured as follows:

• Too much stuff or the wrong stuff? What are we designing and why?
• Unpicking the politics of consumption a global perspective
• Digital technologies and runaway consumption
• Strategies for rethinking consumption
• Rounding lines and straightening circles: what works and what doesn’t

We will be using methodologies that I have developed through other classes at FHP, in particular:

• Speed studio: A rapid group-wide project early on in the course where the group works together on one narrow question. Taking up different roles in a simulation of a real-world studio.
• Systems mapping: Analysing and mapping systems from the beginning to the ends of consumption chains, from coffee to flipflops to smartphones, in order to understand the full ecosystem.
• Theory of change: How to figure out where to intervene in a system using evidence-based research and to develop a realistic theory of change about what impact you can expect with your design intervention.

The final project will require you to design a solution (a product, an app, an information solution..everything design related goes!) that uses the methodology we have covered to create a design intervention that address the negative social and environmental impacts of runaway consumption.