Design for Existential Crisis

What should designers do with their design skills and\udorientation to the future as right-wing populism sweeps\udthrough politics; climate predictions worsen; mass\udmigration (within/across countries) escalates refugee\udnumbers; new classes of automation threaten workers’\udjobs and austerity policies destabilize society? What is\udto be done when it isn’t “business as usual” and even\udbroken concepts of progress seem no longer to be\udprogressing? In this paper, we discuss aspects of\udhumanity, such as the need for meaning, fulfillment,\uddignity and decency, which computers struggle to\udsupport but can easily undermine. We juxtapose design\udthat offers hope with that which offers only distraction\udand conclude with a plea to avoid Bovine Design, or\udtools that encourage passivity, rote-behavior and a\udblinkered existence at a time of great uncertainty and\udchange. The big question that alt-chi can ask for 2017\udis: What is good design for existential crisis