The answer to, “What is the future of design?” is an open hypothesis. The scenarios for this projection are multiple and will eventually lie at the crossroads between the sustainable possibilities of the present, the best lessons learned from the past, and speculative projections (including technological ones) of what our society will be able to create in the coming decades with a view to environmentally healthy, circular and regenerative, socially and ethically conscious, economically equitable, and resilient sustainability.
 
This exhibition is a manifesto initiated 20 years ago with an idea of designing for sustainability and ultimately creating a space of thinking and development that I gave the name of SUSDESIGN – today, Design for Sustainability Studio & Research.
 
The idea of change, more incremental or more radical, has been a constant in my reflection as a designer and researcher, as only through change can we envision a paradigm shift towards the concretisation of a more sustainable society.
 
Change is always an act of rebellion, individual and collective, and it always starts with a question and the consequent reflection on and assessment of the multiple possibilities.
 
This exhibition is a dialogue with fellow academic and designer colleagues (and future colleagues) from different generations on the idea of change and the future of design. It narrates stories of extraordinary projects, each one on its own scale and purpose, integrating different discourses - research, experiences, projects, products, illustrations, narratives - of some examples of our present reality that could transition directly into our common future.
 
It is understood that it is also the responsibility of academia and the professional practice of design to help society reflect on its different possibilities. The discipline of design is therefore presented here as a whole, as research, method, process, and result.
 
The history of design has ultimately shown that, where there is a need there is an opportunity for improvement or a radically innovative solution; thus, this exhibition content is based on proposals that consider six central themes that are not exclusive, but cumulative, namely:
 
· Design for Climate Challenges
· Design for Social Innovation
· Design for Circularity and Regeneration
· Design for Senses, Mental Health, and Neuroscience
· Design for Digital Manufacturing and Augmented Reality
· XXI Century Designers’ Modus Operandi
 
The aim is to show the public the importance of design as a facilitator of transdisciplinary solutions, not just the physical result of design (conventionally translated into objects), but its broader process and its contribution to the emerging paradigm of Sustainable Development.
 
Ana Mestre, designer, researcher, and professor at FBAUL