Dr. Hannah Jones is a design educator and researcher with expertise in design, collaboration and sustainable futures. She was a d.school: Institute of Design, Stanford University Teaching Fellow (2015-2016), where she developed a series of design thinking workshops entitled ‘Building your Design Muscles’, which came runner-up in the Core77 Design Awards (2016). Prior to moving to California in 2014, Hannah led the MA Design Futures and Metadesign program at Goldsmiths, University of London, U.K. Over the course of 12 years at Goldsmiths, Hannah co-developed cutting-edge teaching and research practices around the design and facilitation of interdisciplinary design processes that are open, emergent and inclusive. Hannah is passionate about using design thinking to engage citizen-led creative teams in the collective visioning of urban life. Her PhD design project, ‘Practicing Awkward Space in the City’ (2014), explored physical and social aspects of awkward space and how the concept can be used to seed co-design processes that spur localized change. She is currently working with the d.school and Stanford’s Gendered Innovations to create classes, workshops and design tools that support intersectional design innovation (www.intersectionaldesign.com).
This article proposes how metadesign, a systemic, interdisciplinary and emergent design approach,... more This article proposes how metadesign, a systemic, interdisciplinary and emergent design approach, can provide a dynamic framework for carrying out 'Socially Responsive Design' (SRVD) projects. It explores how metadesign tools and thinking can support the development of fledgling community initiatives working within changing, uncertain contexts. In Oslo, Norway, as in many other cities in Europe, there is a shift in demographics taking place due to an influx of new immigrants and an aging population. These mixed communities bring together a variety of cultural practices, social needs and desires. The article presents the findings from the first phase of an SRVD project carried out in November 2011 with the MA Design students at Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO). The project, entitled 'Metadesigning Spaces of Engagement and Exchange' set about 'bisociating diversities' within the community and co-designing 'seeds' to revitalize a multi-cultural s...
Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and inter-connected socio-ecologica... more Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and inter-connected socio-ecological systems requires a different mindset or paradigm to the industrial mode of thinking that has influenced educational practice for the last century (Orr, 2004, Wood, 2007). Rather than fragmenting the world into separate disciplines for the sake of efficiency, an alternative whole systems approach to sustainability education aims to join-up different skill-sets and types of knowledge to improve effectiveness (Sterling, 2001). This requires a shift from the delivery of knowledge via top-down pedagogic methods, to designing the conditions for a critical co-learning to take place. Here, co-learners work together in groups towards the generation of a shared knowledge or ‘knowledge ecology’ (Fairclough, 2005). Currently, in the UK and beyond, education for the arts and design is under stress, largely due to economic instability. How can we approach this as an opportunity to re-design design e...
Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and interconnected socio-ecological... more Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and interconnected socio-ecological systems requires a different mindset or paradigm to the industrial mode of thinking that has influenced educational practice for the last century (Orr, 2004, Wood, 2007). Our ambitious 3-hour workshop will focus on developing scenarios as a way to prospect how design education might respond to a range of possible ecological futures at a systemic level. We will use metadesign thinking and methods to support and innovate new modes of collaborative learning.
What happens when designers shift their focus from satisfying consumer desires, to facilitating n... more What happens when designers shift their focus from satisfying consumer desires, to facilitating new social possibilities? In recent design history, different labels have popped up to describe design research practices that engage with social issues. These include participatory design, service design, transformative design, metadesign and social design. This article explores the notion of socially responsive design, a term coined by design researchers Adam Thorpe and Lorraine Gamman based in the Design Against Crime Research Centre, London, UK. It describes design that makes a social impact, is driven by social issues and delivers social change. Design researchers Hannah Jones and Anette Lundebye attempt to ‘connect the dots’ between a range of socially responsive design approaches taking place in the UK, Netherlands and Norway. They set out to interview six design experts from their network to discover how they define socially responsive design, what it feels like to be involved in ...
Socially Responsive Design champions a transformative approach to design that shifts from designi... more Socially Responsive Design champions a transformative approach to design that shifts from designing for people to designing with people. As metadesign researchers and practitioners we approach our work with designers, interdisciplinary specialists and community experts as a shared, creative, open, emergent and adaptive pursuit aimed at attuning behaviours towards more sustainable futures. From our ongoing collaborative experiments with the Metadesigners Research Group at Goldsmiths, University of London and our involvement in SRVD projects with KHiO, Oslo Academy of the Arts, we have framed a set of eight principles and prompts for aspiring socially responsive designers.
Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and interconnected socio-ecological... more Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and interconnected socio-ecological systems requires a different mindset or paradigm to the industrial mode of thinking that has influenced educational practice for the last century (Orr, 2004, Wood, 2007). Our ambitious 3-hour workshop will focus on developing scenarios as a way to prospect how design education might respond to a range of possible ecological futures at a systemic level. We will use metadesign thinking and methods to support and innovate new modes of collaborative learning.
Socially Responsive Design champions a transformative approach to design that shifts from designi... more Socially Responsive Design champions a transformative approach to design that shifts from designing for people to designing with people. As metadesign researchers and practitioners we approach our work with designers, interdisciplinary specialists and community experts as a shared, creative, open, emergent and adaptive pursuit aimed at attuning behaviours towards more sustainable futures. From our ongoing collaborative experiments with the Metadesigners Research Group at Goldsmiths, University of London and our involvement in SRVD projects with KHiO, Oslo Academy of the Arts, we have framed a set of eight principles and prompts for aspiring socially responsive designers.
What happens when designers shift their focus from satisfying consumer desires, to facilitating n... more What happens when designers shift their focus from satisfying consumer desires, to facilitating new social possibilities? In recent design history, different labels have popped up to describe design research practices that engage with social issues. These include participatory design, service design, transformative design, metadesign and social design. This article explores the notion of socially responsive design, a term coined by design researchers Adam Thorpe and Lorraine Gamman based in the Design Against Crime Research Centre, London, UK. It describes design that makes a social impact, is driven by social issues and delivers social change. Design researchers Hannah Jones and Anette Lundebye attempt to ‘connect the dots’ between a range of socially responsive design approaches taking place in the UK, Netherlands and Norway. They set out to interview six design experts from their network to discover how they define socially responsive design, what it feels like to be involved in this practice; and how it’s likely to impact on design in the future.
This paper introduces design tools and approaches developed to invite and
support higher levels ... more This paper introduces design tools and approaches developed to invite and
support higher levels of synergy in collaborative practice. The tools that are introduced
through three individual cases have been used to prompt a proactive and imaginative
engagement with the sustainability imperative.
These individual cases challenge the very boundaries of design. The idea of
‘metadesign’ is adopted to advocate design that operates at systemic levels, that invites
interdisciplinary collaborations and that seeds or sets up the conditions for emergent
processes of change.
The cases represent the fashion industry at mass-market level in Sweden and
the UK, the design, production and export of home furnishings in Indonesia, and an
(AHRC) funded interdisciplinary design project in the UK entitled ‘Benchmarking Synergy
levels within Metadesign’.
The sustainability agenda has inspired a growing interest and re-valuing of localized food produc... more The sustainability agenda has inspired a growing interest and re-valuing of localized food production in cities such as London. This paper presents the findings from a one-year (October 2008 – October 2009) participatory design research project entitled ‘MetaboliCity’ (www.metabolicity.com). The project explored how designers can intervene sensitively within local urban food growing communities by providing a design thinking and crafting to help to sustain these initiatives and catalyse larger positive changes in the surrounding environment. The project was based at Central St. Martins in London, UK, facilitated by the design research group Loop.pH and funded by the Audi Design Foundation.
The aim of the project was to create, test and adapt tools and services for collaborative food growing in challenging city spaces. These included community workshops, urban grow-kits and an online collaborative network. A team of designers guided local participants through a set of envisioning, crafting, planting and documenting processes. This paper will introduce the project’s socio-ecological approach to revaluing ‘awkward spaces’ (Jones, 2007) in the city to create places that are at the heart of local communities.
Metabolicity is the first applied design research project to test and adapt collaborative tools and processes that were developed as a part of the ‘Benchmarking Synergy Levels within Metadesign’ project. This project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and based at Goldsmiths, University of London (2005-2008). Metadesign is a systemic, inter-disciplinary and emergent design process aimed at transcending existing specialist boundaries to create more joined-up solutions for the benefit of society and nature.
This article proposes how metadesign, a systemic, interdisciplinary and emergent design approach,... more This article proposes how metadesign, a systemic, interdisciplinary and emergent design approach, can provide a dynamic framework for carrying out 'Socially Responsive Design' (SRVD) projects. It explores how metadesign tools and thinking can support the development of fledgling community initiatives working within changing, uncertain contexts. In Oslo, Norway, as in many other cities in Europe, there is a shift in demographics taking place due to an influx of new immigrants and an aging population. These mixed communities bring together a variety of cultural practices, social needs and desires. The article presents the findings from the first phase of an SRVD project carried out in November 2011 with the MA Design students at Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO). The project, entitled 'Metadesigning Spaces of Engagement and Exchange' set about 'bisociating diversities' within the community and co-designing 'seeds' to revitalize a multi-cultural s...
Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and inter-connected socio-ecologica... more Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and inter-connected socio-ecological systems requires a different mindset or paradigm to the industrial mode of thinking that has influenced educational practice for the last century (Orr, 2004, Wood, 2007). Rather than fragmenting the world into separate disciplines for the sake of efficiency, an alternative whole systems approach to sustainability education aims to join-up different skill-sets and types of knowledge to improve effectiveness (Sterling, 2001). This requires a shift from the delivery of knowledge via top-down pedagogic methods, to designing the conditions for a critical co-learning to take place. Here, co-learners work together in groups towards the generation of a shared knowledge or ‘knowledge ecology’ (Fairclough, 2005). Currently, in the UK and beyond, education for the arts and design is under stress, largely due to economic instability. How can we approach this as an opportunity to re-design design e...
Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and interconnected socio-ecological... more Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and interconnected socio-ecological systems requires a different mindset or paradigm to the industrial mode of thinking that has influenced educational practice for the last century (Orr, 2004, Wood, 2007). Our ambitious 3-hour workshop will focus on developing scenarios as a way to prospect how design education might respond to a range of possible ecological futures at a systemic level. We will use metadesign thinking and methods to support and innovate new modes of collaborative learning.
What happens when designers shift their focus from satisfying consumer desires, to facilitating n... more What happens when designers shift their focus from satisfying consumer desires, to facilitating new social possibilities? In recent design history, different labels have popped up to describe design research practices that engage with social issues. These include participatory design, service design, transformative design, metadesign and social design. This article explores the notion of socially responsive design, a term coined by design researchers Adam Thorpe and Lorraine Gamman based in the Design Against Crime Research Centre, London, UK. It describes design that makes a social impact, is driven by social issues and delivers social change. Design researchers Hannah Jones and Anette Lundebye attempt to ‘connect the dots’ between a range of socially responsive design approaches taking place in the UK, Netherlands and Norway. They set out to interview six design experts from their network to discover how they define socially responsive design, what it feels like to be involved in ...
Socially Responsive Design champions a transformative approach to design that shifts from designi... more Socially Responsive Design champions a transformative approach to design that shifts from designing for people to designing with people. As metadesign researchers and practitioners we approach our work with designers, interdisciplinary specialists and community experts as a shared, creative, open, emergent and adaptive pursuit aimed at attuning behaviours towards more sustainable futures. From our ongoing collaborative experiments with the Metadesigners Research Group at Goldsmiths, University of London and our involvement in SRVD projects with KHiO, Oslo Academy of the Arts, we have framed a set of eight principles and prompts for aspiring socially responsive designers.
Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and interconnected socio-ecological... more Understanding sustainability in terms of our complex, dynamic and interconnected socio-ecological systems requires a different mindset or paradigm to the industrial mode of thinking that has influenced educational practice for the last century (Orr, 2004, Wood, 2007). Our ambitious 3-hour workshop will focus on developing scenarios as a way to prospect how design education might respond to a range of possible ecological futures at a systemic level. We will use metadesign thinking and methods to support and innovate new modes of collaborative learning.
Socially Responsive Design champions a transformative approach to design that shifts from designi... more Socially Responsive Design champions a transformative approach to design that shifts from designing for people to designing with people. As metadesign researchers and practitioners we approach our work with designers, interdisciplinary specialists and community experts as a shared, creative, open, emergent and adaptive pursuit aimed at attuning behaviours towards more sustainable futures. From our ongoing collaborative experiments with the Metadesigners Research Group at Goldsmiths, University of London and our involvement in SRVD projects with KHiO, Oslo Academy of the Arts, we have framed a set of eight principles and prompts for aspiring socially responsive designers.
What happens when designers shift their focus from satisfying consumer desires, to facilitating n... more What happens when designers shift their focus from satisfying consumer desires, to facilitating new social possibilities? In recent design history, different labels have popped up to describe design research practices that engage with social issues. These include participatory design, service design, transformative design, metadesign and social design. This article explores the notion of socially responsive design, a term coined by design researchers Adam Thorpe and Lorraine Gamman based in the Design Against Crime Research Centre, London, UK. It describes design that makes a social impact, is driven by social issues and delivers social change. Design researchers Hannah Jones and Anette Lundebye attempt to ‘connect the dots’ between a range of socially responsive design approaches taking place in the UK, Netherlands and Norway. They set out to interview six design experts from their network to discover how they define socially responsive design, what it feels like to be involved in this practice; and how it’s likely to impact on design in the future.
This paper introduces design tools and approaches developed to invite and
support higher levels ... more This paper introduces design tools and approaches developed to invite and
support higher levels of synergy in collaborative practice. The tools that are introduced
through three individual cases have been used to prompt a proactive and imaginative
engagement with the sustainability imperative.
These individual cases challenge the very boundaries of design. The idea of
‘metadesign’ is adopted to advocate design that operates at systemic levels, that invites
interdisciplinary collaborations and that seeds or sets up the conditions for emergent
processes of change.
The cases represent the fashion industry at mass-market level in Sweden and
the UK, the design, production and export of home furnishings in Indonesia, and an
(AHRC) funded interdisciplinary design project in the UK entitled ‘Benchmarking Synergy
levels within Metadesign’.
The sustainability agenda has inspired a growing interest and re-valuing of localized food produc... more The sustainability agenda has inspired a growing interest and re-valuing of localized food production in cities such as London. This paper presents the findings from a one-year (October 2008 – October 2009) participatory design research project entitled ‘MetaboliCity’ (www.metabolicity.com). The project explored how designers can intervene sensitively within local urban food growing communities by providing a design thinking and crafting to help to sustain these initiatives and catalyse larger positive changes in the surrounding environment. The project was based at Central St. Martins in London, UK, facilitated by the design research group Loop.pH and funded by the Audi Design Foundation.
The aim of the project was to create, test and adapt tools and services for collaborative food growing in challenging city spaces. These included community workshops, urban grow-kits and an online collaborative network. A team of designers guided local participants through a set of envisioning, crafting, planting and documenting processes. This paper will introduce the project’s socio-ecological approach to revaluing ‘awkward spaces’ (Jones, 2007) in the city to create places that are at the heart of local communities.
Metabolicity is the first applied design research project to test and adapt collaborative tools and processes that were developed as a part of the ‘Benchmarking Synergy Levels within Metadesign’ project. This project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and based at Goldsmiths, University of London (2005-2008). Metadesign is a systemic, inter-disciplinary and emergent design process aimed at transcending existing specialist boundaries to create more joined-up solutions for the benefit of society and nature.
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Papers by Hannah Jones
to ‘connect the dots’ between a range of socially
responsive design approaches taking place in the UK, Netherlands and Norway. They set out to interview six design experts from their network to discover how they define socially
responsive design, what it feels like to be involved in this practice; and how it’s likely to impact on design in the future.
support higher levels of synergy in collaborative practice. The tools that are introduced
through three individual cases have been used to prompt a proactive and imaginative
engagement with the sustainability imperative.
These individual cases challenge the very boundaries of design. The idea of
‘metadesign’ is adopted to advocate design that operates at systemic levels, that invites
interdisciplinary collaborations and that seeds or sets up the conditions for emergent
processes of change.
The cases represent the fashion industry at mass-market level in Sweden and
the UK, the design, production and export of home furnishings in Indonesia, and an
(AHRC) funded interdisciplinary design project in the UK entitled ‘Benchmarking Synergy
levels within Metadesign’.
The aim of the project was to create, test and adapt tools and services for collaborative food growing in challenging city spaces. These included community workshops, urban grow-kits and an online collaborative network. A team of designers guided local participants through a set of envisioning, crafting, planting and documenting processes. This paper will introduce the project’s socio-ecological approach to revaluing ‘awkward spaces’ (Jones, 2007) in the city to create places that are at the heart of local communities.
Metabolicity is the first applied design research project to test and adapt collaborative tools and processes that were developed as a part of the ‘Benchmarking Synergy Levels within Metadesign’ project. This project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and based at Goldsmiths, University of London (2005-2008). Metadesign is a systemic, inter-disciplinary and emergent design process aimed at transcending existing specialist boundaries to create more joined-up solutions for the benefit of society and nature.
to ‘connect the dots’ between a range of socially
responsive design approaches taking place in the UK, Netherlands and Norway. They set out to interview six design experts from their network to discover how they define socially
responsive design, what it feels like to be involved in this practice; and how it’s likely to impact on design in the future.
support higher levels of synergy in collaborative practice. The tools that are introduced
through three individual cases have been used to prompt a proactive and imaginative
engagement with the sustainability imperative.
These individual cases challenge the very boundaries of design. The idea of
‘metadesign’ is adopted to advocate design that operates at systemic levels, that invites
interdisciplinary collaborations and that seeds or sets up the conditions for emergent
processes of change.
The cases represent the fashion industry at mass-market level in Sweden and
the UK, the design, production and export of home furnishings in Indonesia, and an
(AHRC) funded interdisciplinary design project in the UK entitled ‘Benchmarking Synergy
levels within Metadesign’.
The aim of the project was to create, test and adapt tools and services for collaborative food growing in challenging city spaces. These included community workshops, urban grow-kits and an online collaborative network. A team of designers guided local participants through a set of envisioning, crafting, planting and documenting processes. This paper will introduce the project’s socio-ecological approach to revaluing ‘awkward spaces’ (Jones, 2007) in the city to create places that are at the heart of local communities.
Metabolicity is the first applied design research project to test and adapt collaborative tools and processes that were developed as a part of the ‘Benchmarking Synergy Levels within Metadesign’ project. This project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and based at Goldsmiths, University of London (2005-2008). Metadesign is a systemic, inter-disciplinary and emergent design process aimed at transcending existing specialist boundaries to create more joined-up solutions for the benefit of society and nature.