Descriptif

Designers are usually seen as problem solvers. Their function is to make a product better or more beautiful, or to make a process more efficient. But what if, instead of solving problems, they posed them? That is the premise behind Critical Design. The objective is not to design products to be sent out into a slightly uncertain future but rather to imagine how that future might be entirely different. The result is a series of scenarios that help to illuminate moral, ethical, political and aesthetic problems. The course offers a tour through an emerging cultural landscape of design ideas, ideals, and approaches looking at projects through the lens of fine art, design, architecture, cinema, and photography. The course draws on futurology, political theory, the philosophy of technology, and literary fiction.