Terry Irwin
New worldview for Design
It is a wake-up call for society in general and designers in particular. Designers are incredibly powerful: We have a hand in creating the communications, experiences and artifacts that comprise our world and we have an increasing influence upon the decisions affecting the quality of life for millions of people.
We are increasingly aware that the cumulative effects of our ‘designs’ is harming the planet in ways that may be irreversible. How can we begin to harness the power of design to contribute to the large problems confronting society that have big consequences?
An outdated worldview
In his book The Turning Point Fritjof Capra refers to a ‘crisis in perception’ or our collective inability to perceive the underlying interconnections and interdependencies that form a complex web of life on this planet. He maintains this crisis is the result of a mechanistic world view whose roots can be traced back to the seventeenth century and its leading thinkers
of the scientific revolution: Descartes (man and the universe as machine), Bacon (use of the empirical method to control nature), Galileo (combined scientific experimentation with mathematics to formulate laws of nature), and Newton (synthesized all their work into a
mathematical formulation of nature, or a mechanistic world view).
Their theories re-conceived the cosmos as a complex machine that could only be understood through its deconstruction. The only ‘truth’ was that which was quantifiable, preferably through the language of mathematics and this gave rise to the belief in man’s intellect over all things, especially nature. This reductionist/mechanistic world view which favors quantities over qualities, compartmentalizes our infrastructures and permeates virtually every aspect of our society from government to medicine and most importantly—education.
Orr contends “We have fragmented the world into bits and pieces called disciplines and sub-disciplines, hermetically sealed from other such disciplines. As a result, after 12 or 16 or 20 years of education, most students graduate without any broad integrated sense of the unity of things; the consequences for their personhood and for the planet are large”.
This trend toward ever greater degrees of specialization
is one of the results of a world view that focuses on parts, not wholes, on objects instead of relationships.
If scientific discoveries in the 17th century laid the groundwork for the current, outdated world view, ironically it could be the scientific discoveries of the 20th century that give rise to a new paradigm, one that reintegrates qualitative experience and advocates a symbiotic relationship with the natural world.

Principles of a Holistic Science

In his book The Web of Life, Capra characterizes some of the implications of scientific discoveries in the late 20th century: “Ultimately—as quantum physics showed so dramatically—there are no parts at all. What we call a part is merely a pattern in an inseparable web of relationships. Therefore a shift from the parts to the whole can also be seen as a shift from objects to relationships.”
Discoveries such as chaos and complexity theory, an understanding of the autopoetic, self-organizing nature of life and properties of emergence are radically changing our understanding of the nature of the cosmos and our role in it. Living systems theory tells us that life’s natural tendency is to organize into ever greater levels of complexity—in networks, patterns and structures that emerge out of seeming chaos without external direction. Organization wants to happen; it isn’t waiting for designers to conceptualize it.
Science now knows that open systems (any system in an ongoing exchange of energy and matter with its environment...like us), operating far from equilibrium, in seeming chaos, display the greatest potential for innovation and creativity when they are far from equilibrium. In other words, the creativity is to an extent, in the chaos and order will almost always spontaneously emerge out of seeming disorder.
Holistic Science : Holistic Design
Design for emergence. Order arises naturally, it can’t be imposed (or it won’t last very long)
Design for relationship. Everything is interconnected; if we focus on the connections and not the objects themselves, the design parameters change.
Design for change. Given enough time, all form is fluid and so are the conditions you’re designing for.
Design with humility. Solutions and outcomes can’t be predicted and small changes in initial conditions can give rise to huge changes. We can never predict or fully understand the consequences and impacts of the things we design...to think we can is hubris.
Nature is a better designer than we are
Nature has been designing slowly, iteratively and appropriately for place for over 3.8 billion years and has evolved her design principles to such a sophisticated and sustainable level that the concept of ‘waste’ doesn’t exist. Everything that nature creates, from beaver damns to spider webs, to coral reefs and ant hills are biodegradable. Ants comprise the same relative biomass on the planet as humans and have been here far longer, yet their industrious and creative communities are characterized by cooperation with each other and the environment.
If designers did nothing more than follow a few of the simple design principles found in nature, our society would likely be transformed within the span of a single generation. Janine Benyus, author of Biomimicry lists nine design principles found in nature:
1. Nature runs on sunlight
2. Nature uses only the energy it needs
3. Nature fits form to function
4. Nature recycles everything
5. Nature rewards cooperation
6. Nature banks on diversity
7. Nature demands local expertise
8. Nature curbs excesses from within
9. Nature taps the power of limits
Natural Design
My masters degree in Holistic Science at Schumacher College and my current PhD research within The Centre for the Study of Natural Design at the University of Dundee explore these ideas and their relationship to and relevance for design and design education.
The Natural Design Movement is based upon the contention that “Nature and Culture are fundamentally interdependent and interconnected by complex social, cultural, economic, ecological and psychological interactions, therefore humanity and nature will have to cooperate as symbiotic, co-evolving living systems.” (CSFD 2007)
Natural Design is about developing a larger vision for design and the role it has to play in the 21st century. In my own design practice and teaching I try to engage clients and students in this inquiry which involves ‘thinking globally and acting locally’. Even small shifts in the conversations we have or the processes we employee can trigger big changes...chaos theory posits that a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon rainforest can start a hurricane in southeast asia. I take comfort in that theory. It means that even the smallest step we take toward a more sustainable design practice and lifestyle can have enormous effects.
Next Steps
After the new ideas and theory...what next? How do we begin to embody principles of a new worldview? The short answer is, I don’t know...this is the inquiry that I’m engaged in. I can share some of the questions I’m asking and ideas I’m testing.
Ask questions. We need to look outside the discourse of design to find inspiration and new paths of exploration
Try to better understand how the world works. Most of us can’t say where our water comes from or where our waste goes. What does it mean to design in harmony with the inherent lawfulness of the natural world?

Count on human ignorance. We will always miscalculate and create flawed designs. Anticipating this must be part of the design parameters
Remain a student for life. In our global, interconnected world learning is the key to transforming our society. If we can do it in a state of wonder and posture of speculation it will be more fun for everyone. Certainty shuts downs speculation and conversation.
Think in longer horizons of time—especially when designing. Native American peoples made any decision with the seventh generation in mind...shouldn’t we design the same way?

Design for place. Or, think globally/act locally. Nature doesn’t take a templatized approach to design (one size fits all) and neither should we. The context for any design solution is always the local environment with its own distinct characteristics and conditions.
Baby steps are OK. Even a simple project can be a testing ground for new ideas and different ways to work. Asking ‘can it be printed on recycled stock’...or perhaps ‘does it need to be printed at all’...and eventually ‘do you think your business could become more sustainable by...(you fill in the blank).
Every boundary drawn around a problem is an artificial one. Any solution I create will have consequences and effects that ripple out far beyond the context I framed it within. The greater context for every design problem is the environment.
Collaboration not competition. Contrary to popular belief, nature is more often cooperative than competitive...remember everything is interconnected and interdependent. Transforming our design process and practices to reflect this will set the butterfly’s wings in motion.

I am living in Washington DC and continuously meet people who are unhappy in their jobs; work is segregated from the rest of their life. i often find myself doing that too.creating buckets to my day or to the week......typical are feelings of "i'm resolved for it to be that way" or "ugh, what can i do?". This notion of design for the every day person who may not be expert in the wonderful lessons you are uncovering in natural design in the meanwhile.......is important.....The Autognomics Institute's (TAI)work on values science (though primitive) which builds on the significant work of Hartman, in my opinion, can help more and more people feel a part of the grand design process of constant change.......instead of victims or passive recipients, co creators.......the exploration of value and value hierarchies to guide decisions has helped me tremendously along with keeping up with all you guys and gals on design...........so read the values stuff on the TAI website....please..........use it as you explore design as professionals and as ordinary pedestrians like me........