Flourish by Design brings together a range of established and emerging voices in design research for a collection that provides original provocations on topics of global significance. It is an insightful guide to original theory and practice concerning how we can design for a better tomorrow.
Featuring contributors from a diverse array of backgrounds and professions, this edited book explores the difference that design and design research can make for people, organisations, and the planet to proposer now and in the future. It offers a range of ideas and techniques through practical examples and ongoing projects showing how applied design research can respond to global challenges. Covering topics as diverse as Artificial Intelligence, Bio-inspired Materials, More-than-Human Design, Sustainability, and Urban Acupuncture, it shares interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary design research to demonstrate not just what could be plausible in the near future but also explain why it might be preferable. By sharing these despatches, this collection represents the very best of what design research can do, explaining how and why.
This book is intended for a wide audience of professionals, scholars and students in design, architecture, public policy, as well as anyone who has an interest in how we design the world and, in turn, it designs us.
About the Author: Nick Dunn is Professor of Urban Design and Executive Director of Imagination, the design and architecture research lab at Lancaster University, UK. He is the founding Director of the Dark Design Lab, exploring the impacts of nocturnal activity on humans and non-humans. Nick has worked with the Alliance for Healthy Cites, Design Council European Commission, International Dark-Sky Association, and World Health Organisation. He has authored numerous books, curated exhibitions, and given talks at public festivals and conferences around the world.
Leon Cruickshank is Professor of Design and Creative Exchange and a founding member of ImaginationLancaster at Lancaster University, UK. His research focuses on the development of open and co-design processes in the private, public and voluntary sectors. Currently he is working on giving communities a stronger voice in an equitable move to sustainability. Past projects include leading the £12million Beyond Imagination project and the £1.2 million Leapfrog project looking at new forms of working creatively outside academia.
Gemma Coupe is the Beyond Imagination Impact Manager at Lancaster University, UK, a bold and engaging project exploring how design research can contribute to a healthier, more prosperous, and sustainable world. Gemma has worked as the Design Manager on multiple design research projects. She develops strategic partnerships, projects, and events that demonstrate the value and impact of design-led research. Previously, Gemma was a founding member of Creative Lancashire, providing an innovative response to economic and social issues affecting creative businesses.
