Category Archives: sustainability and social innovation

Aesthetics of Sustainability

Posted on March 22, 2021 by designabilities

Tom Bieling | Buchbesprechung   Die Gestaltung von Dingen und Räumen ist unweigerlich mit deren (werk-) stofflichen Beschaffenheit, also ihrer Materialität verbunden. Oberflächenstrukturen oder sensorische Merkmale sind dabei ebenso von Bedeutung, wie funktionale, ästhetische Aspekte oder solche der an sie … Continue reading →

Posted in aesthetics, design research, design study, Literature, research, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The long 1960s: Cartographies of hope

Posted on October 12, 2020 by designabilities

by Èrica Soler Casanovas   Cities are dynamic. They have rhythms, movement and a temporal dimension. It is useless to think of the city as a container and establish an order. Listen to the everyday life because the city is … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Politik, space, sustainability and social innovation, urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

von Tom Bieling   Das alte Bild vom Designer als Problemlöser mag punktuell noch zutreffen, ist bei genauerem Hinsehen jedoch unzureichend. Denn längst wissen wir, dass es sich bei Problemen (jedweder Art) stets um hochkomplexe Sachverhalte handelt, die sich aus … Continue reading →

Posted on July 14, 2020 by designabilities | Leave a comment

»Yes, we can« – Die Energiewende nimmt Form an

Posted on July 8, 2020 by designabilities

von Lars Jäger    „Yes, We Can“ war der Slogan des jungen Senators Barack Obama im US- Präsidentschaftswahlkampf 2008. Es waren Worte der Hoffnung und der Visionen vieler, die sich in Amerika nach achtjähriger Präsidentschaft Georg W. Bushs und seiner … Continue reading →

Posted in bioethic, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Design als Problem(+)Lösung: Impulse zu einer zukunftskompatiblen Designvermittlung und -praxis

Posted on June 16, 2020 by designabilities

von Philipp Rösler   Während die designerische Arbeit erfahrungsgemäß noch immer und viel zu oft mit oberflächlicher Formgebung gleichgesetzt oder mit starken Brands, User Centricity und ähnlichen Marketing- und PR-Klischees assoziiert wird, kommen andere, wichtige Aspekte der Entwurfstätigkeit häufig zu … Continue reading →

Posted in design research, designwissenschaft, disability studies, german/deutsch, social design, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gewinner und Verlierer nach Covid-19. Teil V (letzter Teil): Stakeholder-Kapitalismus

Posted on May 29, 2020 by designabilities

von Sibylle Barden   Wie wird die Welt nach Covid-19 aussehen? Die Frage ist so weit gefasst, wie die Zerstörung durch das Virus. Die Pandemie hat uns 7,8 Milliarden Weltbürger in den Ausnahmezustand versetzt, 170 Mitgliedsländer des Internationalen Währungsfonds in … Continue reading →

Posted in Politik, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gewinner und Verlierer nach Covid-19. Teil IV: Das Ecosystem des Menschen

Posted on May 22, 2020 by designabilities

von Sibylle Barden   Nahezu 71 Millionen Menschen sind laut UNHCR auf der Flucht vor Klimawandel, Konflikt und Krieg. 90 Prozent aller Vögel und Fische, so das World Economic Forum, haben Plastikpartikel in ihren Mägen. Böden, Wälder und Wasser werden … Continue reading →

Posted in Politik, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Die Helden der Krise

Posted on April 18, 2020 by designabilities

von Lars Jaeger In Krisenzeiten wird vieles auf die Probe gestellt. Mediensysteme, politische Systeme, die Gesellschaft als solche,  jede*r Einzelne. Unterschiedliche Akteure versuchen Regeln zu bestimmen, sie zu verstehen, sie einzuhalten oder zu umgehen. Welche Regelsysteme und welche Akteure sich dabei durchsetzen … Continue reading →

Posted in german/deutsch, philosophie, Politik, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

produkt | NACHHALTIG | design

Posted on November 15, 2019 by designabilities

von Sonja Stummerer und Martin Hablesreiter. Das erste Mal überhaupt wage ich mich an einen persönlichen Text. Zwar stehe ich der Wissenschaftlichkeit durch Fußnoten seit jeher skeptisch gegenüber und betrachte Zitate als Feigheit vor der eigenen Aussage, aber dieser Essay … Continue reading →

Posted in awareness, Food, german/deutsch, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Es wurde alles gesagt. Handeln!

Posted on November 14, 2019 by designabilities

Die Erkenntnisse der Klimaforschung sind eindeutig: Um das Pariser Klimaabkommen einzuhalten, sind weitreichende Klimaschutzmaßnahmen erforderlich. Doch weder das Klimaschutz- noch das Kohleausstiegsgesetz werden den Empfehlungen der Klimaforschung gerecht. Die Folgen einer weiterhin ungebremsten globalen Erwärmung sind jedoch absehbar verheerend. Damit … Continue reading →

Posted in activism, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Becoming Animal – How our Relationship with Nature, connected with the Senses, has developed to where we are now.

Posted on September 1, 2019 by designabilities

[A Film Review] Dorit Nafshy „As we humans are spending more and more time entranced by our artifacts, caught up in a dazzle of the digital screen, it enables us not to notice, not to feel, what’s really going on … Continue reading →

Posted in bioethic, philosophie, posthumanism, sustainability and social innovation, Transhumanity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Designing Utopia – Designers as Catalysts for Transformation

Posted on May 24, 2019 by designabilities

by Tom Bieling It is said that if 3.5% of the population, across all classes, are prepared to change substantial aspects of their way of life, this will set in motion a profound change in society. 3.5 %, that doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in activism, architecture, awareness, body, design research, exhibition, gender, posthumanism, Protest, social design, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Politiken des Alltags

Posted on April 20, 2019 by designabilities

Buchbesprechung von Tom Bieling Demokratie und Design bilden ein schwer zu trennendes Beziehungskonstrukt. So wie sich Design im Gebrauch verwirklicht, ist auch eine demokratische Gesellschaft ohne Öffentlichkeit kaum denkbar. Und beides gilt erst recht, zieht man demokratisch bedingte und bedingende … Continue reading →

Posted in activism, design research, Literature, Politik, Protest, social design, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Building Gravity: On Gravity in Architecture, Urban Development and Utopia

Posted on January 9, 2017 by designabilities

PROTOCOL Magazine’s recent issue (No. 8) showcases a variety of original works brought together under the theme of “the ground”. In their contribution “Building Gravity” Fernando Luiz Lara* (Austin University of Texas) and Tom Bieling** discuss the concept of “gravity” not exclusively related to the … Continue reading →

Posted in activism, architecture, art, design research, philosophie, Protest, social design, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Schrottküche

Posted on October 13, 2014 by designabilities

[English Version below!] Welche Roh- und Wertstoffe befinden sich in unseren mobilen Geräten? Unter welchen Produktionsbedingungen sind diese Geräte entstanden? Wie verhält es sich um ihren Lebenszyklus und das Leben nach ihrem Gebrauch? Im Rahmen der Code Week übt ein Team aus … Continue reading →

Posted in sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Design as Radical Labour (Interview with Tom Bieling)

Posted on April 3, 2014 by designabilities

NewPractice (Issue One) on ‘Design as Radical Labour’ includes an interview with Tom Bieling about social, cultural and political dimensions of Design. Find the entire interview here!  

Posted in design research, gender, interview, social design, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ivan Illich: A brief Introduction

Posted on March 15, 2014 by designabilities

Since many of his thoughts and works are still very present in our discourses, we would like to share a brief introduction with some background information about Ivan Illich, we found online:

Posted in education, sustainability and social innovation | Leave a comment

New Book: The History of Sustainable Design

Posted on January 17, 2014 by designabilities

click to enlarge! The new publication ‘Die Geschichte des nachhaltigen Designs‘ (= The History of sustainable Design) by Karin-Simone Fuhs, Davide Brocchi, Michael Maxein & Bernd Draser (Hrsg.) contains a contribution by Design Research Lab‘s Tom Bieling, Florian Sametinger and Gesche … Continue reading →

Posted in design research, Literature, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Community Infrastructuring

Posted on November 25, 2013 by designabilities

Communities can be understood as forms of active engagement, collaboration and knowledge sharing which create new social bonds and be regarded as catalysts for social innovation and participation. The community infrastructuring research group (Florian Sametinger, Jennifer Schubert, Andreas Unteidig, Malte … Continue reading →

Posted in design research, sustainability and social innovation | Leave a comment

Radio Interview (Tom Bieling, Multicult FM, 24 October 2012)

Posted on October 27, 2012 by designabilities

Tom Bieling talks about the Project DESIGN IN(G) SOCIETY in this Radio Interview (Language: German). To listen or download the Interview click here! Or “watch” it on Youtube: For further Infos on the project click here! Project DESIGN IN(G) SOCIETY In the winter semester 2012/13, a … Continue reading →

Posted in design research, interview, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Manzini on Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability

Posted on February 13, 2012 by designabilities

We already mentioned Ezio Manzini quite a lot. Here is another one of his talks (from 2010):   Ezio Manzini-Keynote: Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo.

Posted in sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Touching new ways of commincation for 2012 and beyond….

Posted on December 28, 2011 by designabilities

Dear friends Liebe Freunde Caras amigos A healthy, successful and happy 2012 to all of you (especially those we haven’t met this year)! Euch allen (insbesondere denen, die wir in diesem Jahr leider nicht treffen konnten) sowie einen sicheren Rutsch … Continue reading →

Posted in accessible, blind, body, care, deaf, design project, design research, design study, embodiment, Experience Disability, prototyping, research, social design, sustainability and social innovation, tactile communication, team | Leave a comment

Conference Review: Sustainability in Design NOW! (Bangalore/India 2010)

Posted on October 19, 2010 by designabilities

We recently attended the Sustainability in Design: NOW! Conference in Bangalore/India. The Conference was promoted and organized as the concluding event of the EU funded LeNS project, which aims at the development and diffusion of design for sustainability in design … Continue reading →

Posted in Conference, sustainability and social innovation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Conference Review: Sustainability in Design NOW! (Bangalore/India 2010)

Ramia Maze on social Inno

Posted on May 11, 2010 by designabilities

After Dr. Ramia Maze could unfortunately not attend personally the last DRNetwork Forum, she did an interesting online presentation. I am not sure, if that video will be uploaded on DRNetwork, so in substitute i post her recent talk on … Continue reading →

Posted in design research, social design, sustainability and social innovation | Comments Off on Ramia Maze on social Inno

Welcome to DESIGNABILITIES!

Posted on June 1, 2009 by designabilities

… a research blog developed and run at      

Posted in accessible, activism, advertisement, age, alternative communication, architecture, art, augmentative communication, awareness, bioethic, blind, blog, body, body modification, Calendar, Capability Simulation, care, co-design, comedy, Conference, cyborg, cymatics, deaf, deaf-blind, Definitions, demenz, design project, design research, design study, designwissenschaft, disability aesthetics, disability studies, echolocation, education, embodiment, Enhancement, event, exhibition, Experience Disability, fashion, Film, freak, game, gender, german/deutsch, graphic, humor, illiteracy, implants, interaction, interview, jewelery, jobs, Literature, movie, multimodality, music, neuroscience, people, performance, philodhopir, philosophie, photography, playful interaction, Politik, pop culture, posthumanism, prosthetics, prototyping, quote, reciprocal learning, report, research, senses, social design, sound, STS, sustainability and social innovation, synaesthesia, tactile communication, tangible interaction, team, toy, Transhumanity, typo, Uncategorized, universal design, virtual reality, visual communication | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Welcome to DESIGNABILITIES!