What does a systemic change experiment look like?

Hi there,

I've been away for a while as our circular economy-themed video project, Circumcenter, kept me a little busy, but I'm back. Here we go.

We live in a complex world. So much so that whenever we take steps to improve something, we are likely to harm something else. We are in such an interconnectedness, such interdependence, and dependence.

Between this network of relations, the notion of conscious design is getting deeper in meaning and stronger in impact. Criticism and the holistic thinking that considers not only things but also relationships form the basis of conscious design for me.

Concretely, it's pretty pointless to say you're a carbon-neutral company while mistreating your employees, or it doesn't make you a good company to provide education to girls while exploiting your producers. While one side of your values is on fire, your flowers blooming on the other will soon die from a lack of holistic well-being.

Holistic design encompasses not only relationships between things but also the relations between times, learnings, memories, and intentions.

Well, can I give an example of such a good brand and institution with such good intentions, actions, and relations? No. But I can talk about organizations that try to do better, support those who try, meetings, and people who dare to try.

Meet Upright Platform

The Upright Platform is the world's first open impact data platform that shows the non-public impact data of companies we all enthusiastically follow, such as Apple, Phizer, and Tesla. The platform developed an AI-powered data engine that maps the impact of 150,000 products based on 200M+ scientific publications. They not only make those companies' impact visible but also provide features where you can compare the data with others and check the alignment of SDGs, EU Sustainable Finance Regulation (EU SFDR), and EU Taxonomy regulations. This fascinating platform helps companies and startups track, prove, and optimize their impact and helps investors and policymakers identify patterns and make better decisions.

Meet BIO27?

It's not new; globalization and our selfish profit seek triggered an undeniable imbalance between nature and humankind. The consequences of our avid desires have become one of the biggest problems on the planet. But we don't have anyone but ourselves to create solutions. And the designers are the first ones to take action for the better.?

The theme of the 27th Biennial of Design, BIO27 is "Super Vernaculars-Design for a Better Future." The notion of the vernacular approach was initially embraced within the architecture ecosystem such that 95% of the world's built environment has been made within the Vernacular architecture approach, with no academic expertise with the support of traditional learnings. The combination of locally internalized learnings, modern design techniques, and technology may be promising us a holistic future.

Therefore the core focus of BIO 27 is Super Vernaculars, which examines a rising and ambitious movement that draws on vernacular and indigenous architectural and design traditions from around the world to develop a daring vision for a regenerative and responsive future.

*Here is an example of our own; Tradition as a Making Tool, research by design and doing project seeking to find an answer to the question of how the public spaces in busy contemporary cities can be designed, programmed, and used, which takes its inspiration from the traditional Turkish tea gardens, a place for social gatherings with friends and family under the shade of trees.

Meet The Restory?

How did "luxury fashion" fall into the same sentence as "repair"? The notion of luxury doesn't have to be associated with only price; it may also state uniqueness. When something is unique and hard to replace, it's natural to feel the wish to maintain it. But somehow, luxury hated repair for a long time, and now there is this new brand that makes repair cool for luxury lovers.?

The Restory is a repair service for luxury products such as Gucci, Channel, Dior bags, Jimmy Choo shoes, and even more. Maybe the target group is not as big as secondhand clothing and flea markets but has the potential to be more impactful by seeding the concept of repair, reuse, and long-lasting product ownership into the minds and hearts of financially stronger ones.?

* Share with me in the comments, please, those who dare to make a change for the better, and e-mail me if you want to discuss a collaboration.