Category: workshops

  • The Future of Money

    The Future of Money

    Lead by: Malé Luján Escalante, in collaboration with Supra Systems Studio and UAL:LCC Design School

    The Future of Money Award has run for over a decade, exploring different facets of design, money, and speculative thinking. In 2022, it was hosted by Supra Systems Studio, in collaboration with the Design School at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London.

    Every week seems to bring a new plan to reinvent money. These plans are hyped as revolutionary: they promise to liberate us from inequality, disrupt global finance, and bring down outdated institutions. These new monetary systems are designed from the ground up with fresh inbuilt logics to support their imagined use. Seductively shiny, they ask us not to look too closely at what their long-term implications are.

    But the existing world of money isn’t going anywhere. State currency is still real. Bitcoin is still valued in US dollars, and folding paper cash still exists. Money is a public infrastructure and common language – it only has value because we have a shared sense of its meaning. If we want to change the world, we must start with what’s here right now, and think about how the system really works.

    Instead of solving it by stacking new breakage on old, can creative practice challenge how existing financial systems work?

    The Future of Money design competition invited people to use future-oriented creative methods and create a project which makes a change to an existing financial system, considering how this system operates, and why, and designing a modification to the system, its’ communication, or how it is distributed.

    The Futre of Money 2022, Award Winners

    Memoirs to keep

    Yashwanthi Balamurugan Sumithra, Xi Zhang, Syeda Madiha Hussain, & Yini Zheng, MA Service Design, UAL:LCC

    Failed Economies

    Angela Rodríguez, Andrea Miranda, María Gabriela Sulbarán, Karl Gavidia, Jeiver Gavidia, Graphic Design, Universidad de los Andes, Venezuela.

    Financial Transaction Markup Language

    Martin Disley, Chris Elsden, Chris Speed, Institute for Design Informatics, University of Edinburgh

    Fanoo Child Banking

    Carmen Diaz, Zhiyu Lin, David Povilaika, & Julia Yu , BA (Hons)Design Management, UAL:LCC

    Pay Delay

    Omair Malik BA (Hons) User Experience, UAL:LCC.

    Green Uni

    Pam Chen, BA (Hons) Design for Art Direction, UAL:LCC

    CBDCS for SDGS

    Glenn Sæstad, MA Strategic Design, Oslo School of Architecture and Design

    ___, in Excess

    Astrid Chung and Benedetta Scollo, BA (Hons) Design for Art Direction, UAL: LCC and Aldo Heubel, BA (Hons) Crossmedia Design at ArtEZ University of the Arts

    Hidden Value in the Information Age

    Haipeng Yan, Hanli Zhang, MA Data Visualization, UAL:LCC and MsC Data Science & AI for Creative Industry, UAL:CCI

    Public Program

    To complement the competition, we have curated a public online program of lectures and creative futures workshops,. Videos for the lectures are available in the links below. Attending the public program is not a requirement for submission, but it will help to situate your work within the design discussions.

    If you’ve participated in the program, we’d love to hear your feedback about it here.

    ‘Financial Instruments’ – DMSTFCTN.  In this lecture, DMSTFCTN will explore opaque financial practices and discuss their evolving artistic approaches to money and its systems. Video available here.

     ‘Selling Stories’ – Oliver Smith (DMSTFCTN) and Marion Lagedamont (UAL) This workshop explores the use of storytelling as a way to reframe our approaches to the future of money, revealing its infrastructures and hidden systems. 

    ‘Counting Things That Money Doesn’t Count’ – Diana Finch, Bristol Pound, in conversation with Dr. Nigel Dodd (LSE) and Charlie Waterhouse (Extinction Rebellion) A conversation exploring the history and development of Bristol Pound and the role of communities in shaping the future of money. Video available here.

    ‘Dancing About Money’ – Alaistair Steele (UAL) and Dr. John Fass (UAL) What are the opportunities and pit-falls, for people and planet, of current and imminent changes in the forms money takes?

    ‘Participatory Futures’ – Laurie Smith, Head of Foresight Research (NESTA). As the world struggles with increased complexity and uncertainty, this lecture explores how NESTA uses contemporary methods which can allow us to collectively imagine alternative, democratic and inclusive futures. Video available here.

    ‘Money for Mars’ – Scott Smith (Changeist) & John Willshire (Smithery) Humans are on the edge of living in space full-time,  but we have little recent concrete speculation about the new financial instruments and products that may emerge, especially considering how time, connection and needs change radically off-Earth. This workshop explores how to develop speculative financial products for New Space economies.

    ‘Indigenous Futures’ – Felipe Viveros This lecture will explore some of the key ideas and guiding principles behind global projects exploring new economic paradigms, from UBI to gross national happiness in Bhutan, presenting a general overview of how these new policies are working on the ground. Video available here.

    ‘Failed Economies’ – University of Andes ULA & IsITEthical? Exchange This workshop explores the realities of being a creative in a country where money has failed.

    ‘Reimagining the purpose of tax for a climate and biological emergency’ – Becky Miller This lecture introducing a speculative tax system in order to investigate the use of design artefacts in facilitating conversations with financial and climate futures. Video available here.

    “When Money Talks Back”  – Ruben Pater (Untold Stories) This workshop explores of the power dynamics behind the visual representations of money in many of its forms, and an invitation to use graphic design to open a line of communication allowing these representations of money to “talk back”. 

  • Worst, Most, Uncertainty: Exploring creative methods to uncover unspoken in AI ethics challenges

    Worst, Most, Uncertainty: Exploring creative methods to uncover unspoken in AI ethics challenges

    Dr Katrina Petersen is a Research Manager at Trilateral Research

    One challenge in designing AI comes from the work needed to align the wants of the users, the needs of society, the abilities of the tools, and the content of data themselves. These disconnects are often unspoken, yet regularly lead to unintended ethical impacts.

    For example, when designing AI intended to be used in decisions to help people the most, what happens if the AI looks for how to help the most people, but the user wants to know who needs help the most? This workshop starts from these disconnects, using uncertainty as a conceptual framing tool to explore how creative, hands-on, and participatory methods can help us see how ethical challenges like social injustices, uneven benefits, or unexpected responsibilities relate to the design and use of AI.

  • Shaping Emplace Youth Initiative

    Shaping Emplace Youth Initiative

    Ali Reza Yawari, Muna Baroud, Emplace, Indonesia

    The Transition Living Lab – Design framework has been instrumental in shaping Emplace Youth Initiative’s approach to youth empowerment and refugee integration. Through our co-facilitation involvement with the Refugee Transition Network team and partner institutions in 2023, we were introduced to the Transition Design framework, which focuses on shifting mindsets and identifying intervention points within systems over time.

    Together with our partner institutions, we applied this framework through hands-on workshops recently in 2024. We have created spaces where refugee youth are encouraged to envision and design systems of environmental justice, rooted in their cultural values and traditional knowledge. These workshops have been transformative, not only equipping participants with creative and designerly competencies but also boosting their self-confidence and sense of belonging. Many attendees including members of Emplace reported positive feedback in feeling reconnected to their sense of self and purpose, breaking out of isolation, and fostering meaningful friendships through this workshop.

    The Transition Living Lab model, with its focus on experiential learning and co-design, has allowed participants to see themselves as agents of change, capable of envisioning new futures and leading systemic transformations. By shifting the narrative from a deficit-based view to a strength-based approach, our workshop encouraged and highlighted the invaluable contributions that displaced youth bring to their communities. This collaborative environment deepened their understanding of local challenges as well as nurtured leadership and innovation that can empower them to shape their own futures.

    Ali Reza Yawari – Emplace Co-Founder and Executive Director
    Muna Baroud: Emplace Co-Founder and Programme Coordinator

    Link to Emplace LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emplace-initiative/

  • Design Practice Across Borders 

    Design Practice Across Borders 

    Transition Living Lab students at ITB:DeLab, Bandung, organised an exhibition to present, discuss and reflect on the projects. 

    Design Practice Across Borders was a transdisciplinary event series that aims to explore how design can empower youth communities across borders to become changemakers within their own communities. The series features an Exhibition, a Talkshow, and a Mini Workshop, showcasing the collaborative efforts of refugees and designers. Together, they reimagine both idealistic and practical solutions for future challenges, integrating diverse perspectives.

    A key aspect of the event is the application of systemic design, which recognizes the interconnection of design decisions within larger systems. This approach emphasizes understanding how individual choices impact broader contexts, leading to more adaptive and inclusive solutions.

    Visitors will have the opportunity to reflect on how cross-border design can address broader societal issues, such as intersectionality and city development. By engaging with these themes, this event highlights innovative ways which refugee youth contribute to redefine global systems and fostering a more inclusive future.

  • Shifting Narratives Exhibition

    Shifting Narratives Exhibition

    Shifting Narratives Exhibition, Barbican Library

    Francesco Mazzarella, Camilla Palestra, UAL:LCF, Centre for Sustainable Fashion

    The Transition Living Lab project was presented at the Learning Section of the Shifting Narratives Exhibition (05 -29 July, 2024) at the Barbican Library, London.

    The Learning section of the exhibition presents projects of MA students from the four partner institutions, celebrating how their work contribute to shifting prevailing narratives of refugees, discussing how the socio-cultural practices of the youth participants in London, Bandung and Yogyakarta, can play a crucial role in shaping the diverse social fabric of a place, whilst building resilient communities and fostering cultural sustainability.

    The learning section, was in the general context of an exhibition that celebrate the work Decolonising Fashion and Textiles – Design for Cultural Sustainability with Refugee Communities – AHRC, 2022-24 led by Dr Francesco Mazzarella and curated by Camilla Palestra (UAL:LCF -Centre for Sustainable Fashion).

    It was made possible with the support of the Barbican Library, Arbeit Project Ltd, Bow Arts, Emplace, the London boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest; Poplar HARCA, RDI-UREF, Revoke, Rosetta Arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees. It was supported by Refugee Transition Network AHRC, 2023-24 led by Dr Malé Luján Escalante, and LCC: International Office.

    Workshops

    Two teams from UAL:LCC MA Service Design test their methodologies among researchers and general public in the context of the Shifting Narratives Exhibition at the Barbican Library, on the 6th of July, 2024. In a full day of playful public engagement, students facilitate, networked and received feedback, what was a valuable opportunity for students. The agenda for the day included: ‘Nature Explores’ Workshop, ‘Stories through Food’ Workshop, which practice skills of  design exploration, storytelling and relational leadership for changemaking and transition actions.

  • Experiments in Utopia as Method

    Experiments in Utopia as Method

    Transition Lab Workshops

    Viv Kuh, Responsible Innovation, University of Bristol

    Artist/Celebrant Bec Gee and Lecturer/Creative Futurist Viv Kuh have been working together on utopian futuring methodologies since 2022, supporting people to collectively imagine and critically engage with utopian futures as a means of reflecting on contemporary practice and values. Their work is inspired by Ruth Levitas’ (2013)Utopia as Method and was initially developed to support scientists and engineers to imagine the futures their research may create, but has since found resonance with researchers, artists, designerss and practitioners from a range of other contexts. 

    Vivienne Kuh and Bec Gee developed the Narrative Futuring method to help scientists and engineers “feel the futures” their research is helping to create. Using utopian envisioning as method, Narrative Futuring helps us imagine the people, places and emotions that may exist one day as a result of the pioneering technologies being developed right now.

    In this workshop, participants will learn about the Narrative Futuring method and use it to create some utopian visions for our plural futures with some of the emerging AI systems in the present day. Narrative Futuring is quick, dirty and iterative, enabling practitioners to swiftly generate multiple possible futures within which we can all play and explore, anticipating the joys and perils in the imaginaries of our shared techno-moral futures.