A Systemic Design Method to Approach Future Complex Scenarios and Research Towards Sustainability: A Holistic Diagnosis Tool

• Main Authors: Chiara Battistoni, Carolina Giraldo Nohra, Silvia Barbero
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-08-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: design for sustainability; systemic design; systems thinking; Holistic Diagnosis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4458

This article aims to frame the role of Systemic Design (SD) as an alternative design model for the future of design for sustainability, by defining and assessing a structured process to execute Holistic Diagnosis (HD), an innovative context framework. Taking as its background a deep understanding of the design for sustainability and systems thinking concepts that frame SD as a field where HD is rooted, multiple case-study analyses were performed. HD demonstrates its ability to overcome the design boundaries in different fields such as industrial production, local communities, and policy-making, thereby providing a more in-depth understanding of complex environments with an iterative process: assess, research, collect, visualize, and interpret. This framework is a relevant tool for designers to address problem framing in complex scenarios to obtain future sustainable solutions with an innovative and transdisciplinary approach, thereby promoting a horizontal dialogue among all involved components.