New Literacies for Unstable Futures. Designing with Systemic Complexity

Contemporary societies are increasingly defined by the conditions of polycrisis, in which uncertainty, instability, and the interconnectedness of the social, the ecological, and the technological dominate. In this sense, linear, product and market-oriented design paradigms fail to provide the required solutions for long-term challenges. This contribution aims to discuss the need for a shift in the understanding of design from a problem-solving activity to a systemic, anticipatory, and transformative practice capable of engaging with complexity and uncertainty, rather than attempting to dominate and control them. In doing so, it explores emerging design literacies such as long-term thinking, empathy, and the capacity to navigate across human and non-human ecosystems. Design will be understood as a means for creating new ways of inquiry and knowledge production, so that the designer can think about and create new futures. Finally, the contribution will aim to discuss the need for a shift from designing ‘for’ the future, where the future is a determined and singular concept, to designing ‘with’ the future, where the future is a plural and negotiated concept.