FBTB 2024: Jeffrey Koh & Karin Aue - Transitioning: Design's Role in Sustainability

The Duo from Singapore
Join a journey of exploration and inspiration with Karin Aue and Jeffrey Koh in their keynote, where they'll be pushing our boundaries to explore beyond human supremacy, short-term solutions, and the traditional role of the designer.

Delve into their rich backgrounds spanning strategic design consultancy, circular business models, regenerative design, and circular economy. Discover how they have led impactful projects and facilitated transitions towards a more sustainable future.

Transitioning: Design's Role in Sustainability
In our talk, we’ll explore the role of design in our increasingly complex world. Despite the growing challenges, it's also an exhilarating era – we’re in a renaissance of our profession. It’s time to push boundaries and expand our thinking.

Beyond Human Supremacy – How can we expand the scope of our practice beyond a human-centric approach to include all relevant actors, whether human or not?

Beyond Short Term – What strategies can we employ to extend the time horizons we think and act within? How can we draw insights from the past and envision the future beyond the constraints of release dates and quarterly returns?

Beyond Solutions – How can we embrace the reality that nothing is ever definitively solved but rather evolves and undergoes continuous change?

Beyond the Designer as Savior – How can we stay humble in our practice, fostering more collaborations, learning from, and building upon other disciplines and sources of knowledge?

Beyond Design - How can we fundamentally question the necessity of what we design, reject unnecessary production, and explore alternative ways to meet needs?

We won’t have all the answers, but we are looking forward to providing provocations, inspirations, and grounds for healthy discussion.