Creating communally for social good has to be the future of design, says Robert Phillips, author of Futurekind: Design by and for the People. He picks out five projects from the book that demonstrate the idea in action.
Part manifesto, part call-to-arms, Futurekind brings together more than 60 projects from around the globe designed to directly improves people's lives without harshly impacting the environment, a concept the author calls Futurekind.
Many provide solutions to everyday problems faced by some of the poorest people around the world.
"Futurekind design is considerate of its social, local, global, human and material effects, which can often be hidden from view," said Phillips, who is also a senior tutor at London's Royal College of Art. "The lessons learned from these projects can be globally translated across cultures, contexts and different challenges."
Futurekind projects aim to "unify expertise and communities"
Collaboration and community engagement are key to the approach. This enables people to build on their own insights and experience as "enablers" of democratising design.
"The collaborative examples unify expertise and communities, rather than parachuting in established values," said Phillips.
"We don't intend to preach, as we do not know the answers. Instead, we hope to learn and build on others' responses and approaches to global challenges," he continued.
"Such issues require collaborati...