Social design
Social design is the application of design methodologies in order to tackle complex human issues, placing the social issues as the priority. Historically social design has been mindful of the designer's role and responsibility in society, and of the use of design processes to bring about social change.
For good or bad, all design is social. There is a prevailing tendency to think of the ‘social’ as something that exists separate from materiality as if it is a force hovering in the ether. We speak of social problems, social good, or social decline as phenomena that are unconditionally human, negotiated, and enacted between individuals with unlimited agency. Material-oriented thinkers such as Bruno Latour, Jane Bennett, and Tim Ingold have sought to dissolve this distinction of the social from the material. They emphasise that things matter, as they are fundamental parts of the intricate and inseparable connections, webs, meshes, or networks of human-material relations. Remarkably, this mentality of seeing the social and material as distinctly separate, as if existing on different plains, also permeates in the practice of design—despite its material media. Design often treats material as exogenous to a social context, an exotic appendage, or a foreign object being introduced into a non-material milieu. This may be the result of a deep desire to elevate human affairs above that of materiality or simply from a fear of acknowledging the overwhelmingly complex set of socio-material relations in which design is embedded, and which constitutes our world.
History
Social design—design for society and with society—is not a modern invention. And yet, it is of such great relevance today, because the global growth economy and its consequences for people and the environment are putting many societies at risk, or are even pushing them to the limits of their capacity to survive. Those who are not yet in this situation are justifiably concerned about the future. It is becoming increasingly clear that the imbalance of resources, means of production, education, and future prospects is a significant part of the problem. Thus, as in earlier times of crisis—in contrast to growing tendencies toward nationalism and isolationism—there is much discussion today about developing an open and cosmopolitan social culture, and redesigning social systems and working and living conditions in a way that bears in mind their implications for the world as a whole.Architects, designers, craftspeople, and engineers have always played a decisive role in shaping such a social culture. Their visions for a better and more livable world have driven and continue to drive their own work and their sphere of influence, and have been a valuable reference for their successors.
The English designer, writer, publisher, and socialist activist William Morris holds a special place in this regard. The pioneer of the Arts and Crafts Movement, with his view that art and society are interconnected, left a lasting mark. He understood his work as an alternative to industrialization and its harmful effects on people and the environment, as had been described, for example, by Friedrich Engels in his 1845 essay The Condition of the Working Class in England. According to Morris, true art should be “made by the people, and for the people, as a happiness to the maker and the user.” Consequently, he himself became a craftsman, designer, and producer of wallpapers, textiles, glass, and furniture, who assumed responsibility for the entire design and production process in his collaborations with other designers. The main principles he applied to his work were beauty, quality, truth to materials, and durability. And he found inspiration in nature as an expression of vibrant growth as well as the craftsmanship of the Middle Ages and the preindustrial era. Morris’s designs marked a stark contrast to the poor quality of the industrially manufactured products of his day and were greatly influential in the evolution of the decorative arts far beyond Great Britain. His ideal of a balanced society based on communal ownership, exchange, and development opportunities for all is described in his 1890 utopian novel News from Nowhere. Although he attempted to draw closer to his vision through a number of initiatives, his artisanal and social commitments harbor an irreconcilable contradiction: the painstakingly handcrafted products were affordable only to a wealthy circle of art enthusiasts and thus inaccessible to the parts of society he intended to reach.
Within the design world, social design is defined as a design process that contributes to improving human well-being and livelihood.
Social design in 20th century has been inspired by Victor Papanek's writings, he was one of the first to address issues of social design in the 1960s. He was focused on creating change within the design field and no longer tolerating misdesign, any design that does not account for the needs of all people and disregards its own environmental consequences. To be a positive force in society, design and designers need to be socially and morally responsible, designers carry a serious responsibility for the consequences their designs have on society. These consequences include environmental impact and designers can contribute to designing more considerate and ecological products by carefully selecting the materials they use. Papanek also remarks on designing for people's needs and designers have responsibility over the choices they make in design processes. Often design is detached from the real world and is focused on the commercial market by designing for luxury items or for just a few people based on aesthetics, or disposable items. Papanek emphasizes designers should have a keen eye for where the need is and often that is found by looking at marginalized populations.
Another author who contributes to the development of social design is Victor Margolin. He writes in the 2002 book, The Politics of the Artificial: Essays on Design and Design Studies the "designer's ability to envision and give form on material and immaterial products that can address human problems on broad scale and contribute to social well-being." This ideology is something that social design is built on. In this view social design is an activity that should not be framed with connotations of charity, aid donations, help, etc. It is not voluntary work, but it should be seen as professional contribution that plays a part in local economic development or livelihood. At the same time Social Design also challenges the conventional market model of designing. While traditionally, Design has been approached as a profession that remains strictly answerable to market forces, social design envisages the possibility of a more distributive conception of surpluses, by ensuring that the benefits of services and systems reach a wider range of user groups who may often fall outside the market system. Margolin writes, "The primary purpose of design for the market is creating products for sale. Conversely, the foremost intent of social design is the satisfaction of human needs."
Designer George Aye writes about the importance of acknowledging the role of power when designing for complex social sector issues, as one may do for social design projects. Depending on the project, designing for user engagement in a project can be more important than designing for solutions, and it encourages the use of human-centered design methodologies.
Engineer Chris Cox of Facebook used the term "social design" in 2010 and 2011 as, " defines the concept as improving how people build human-to-human, versus human-to-interface, connections online".
Outside the design world social design appears in a number of professional environments, there are many artists that use the term social design or social practice to describe their work, though the work is exhibited within the contexts of the art world and have a different dialog when compared to design.