Disruption and provocation are tactics we use to make waves, troubling the status quo in a quest to make right. – Lisa Grocott Current 07 takes on the theme of “Critical Making: Theories, Models & Frameworks.” This year’s issue features articles written around the subjects of critical making, critical use and design, social innovation for sustainability and […]

Critical making, as a term, was initially used by Matt Ratto in 2008 and first published in 2009 to describe the combination of critical thinking with hands-on making—a kind of pedagogical practice that uses material engagements with technologies to open up and extend critical social reflection. In Ratto and Hoekema’s words, “critical making is an […]

Myths-Busting Additive Manufacturing, or 3D printing as we have come to know it, represents both an emergent personal production platform and a scale-able manufacturing process. Fundamentally it is really nothing new. Researchers and private enterprise first filed patents on stereolithography in the early 1980s. And it has been present in Industry for some time since, […]

Last Christmas I bought myself an activity tracker. The wearable represented not a reward for the exercise I was already doing but in preparation for what I was about to start doing. I realize this reads like a setup for failure—but not so—I set out to do 10,000 steps a day and I did. I […]

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is defined as a self-managed, chronic autoimmune disease that occurs when the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas are destroyed by the body’s immune system. Consequently, those living with T1D rely on an external source of insulin for life. The day-to-day management of this disease is exceedingly complicated, impacting every aspect of […]

[Nature’s] power is in us understanding that [it] has a value that goes beyond its usefulness to us. The literacy this gives us—the knowledge this gives designers—is deeply held and has the potential to shape all our ideas and actions. …designers will reach into the lives of users in a continuous and dynamic way and […]

Critical use is mediated. Critical use is applied. Critical use is an act of appropriation. Critical USE drives content and insight. It spins off new: systems, ideas, solutions, rigor sets, affinities. Critical use gets us past the blocking points. Critical use is risky it asks us to engage in new ways. It makes use of […]

Improv theatre techniques create the conditions to embody the design space through collaborative action, as a generative tool that provides structure through constraints in the creative process for designers. This research will demonstrates what improv theatre principles are and how they relate to design, as well as identify precedents using similar theories and opportunities as the […]

The Context of Sustainability Those of us who are paying attention to climate change know that the way that we live our lives needs to change. The way that we live needs to change urgently, markedly and systemically; this includes all that we do, every act that has impact on others, on resource consumption, energy […]

Our Plastics Problem How do we begin to examine and deconstruct our relationship with plastic? Since its discovery, designers, inventors and engineers alike have exploited its cheap cost, durability, and flexibility of use. It was not until recently that we recognized problems with this material, especially regarding plastic waste. Yet we still continue to use […]

Art Directors Jordan Tate Tina Yan Production Manager Katrina Yu Communication Manager Robin Spence Designers Alick Yeung Christina Hsu Danica Norton Jessica Lee Kaeley Slaney Robin Spence Rebecca Lee Rebecca Moir Tiffany Peng Scott Zhao Ying Tang Photography Angie Wu Isabelle Ranieri Katrina Yu Illustration Toshie Kaligis Cover Design Toshie Kaligis Contributors Garnet Hertz Helene […]