The concept of transition is central to a variety of contemporary discourses and initiatives concerned with how change manifests and can be catalyzed and directed in complex systems. These discourses are found within academia, non-profit and community sectors but are often unrelated to each other or to the field of design. The concept of Transition Design acknowledges and draws from all of these approaches. It aspires to act as an integrative agent among them and educate a generation of designers qualified to work in transdisciplinary teams developing transition solutions. These approaches include:

Originating in Northern Europe within the academic fields of Innovation Management and Technology Assessment, these theories focus on how societal transitons happen. These approaches have been used as practical tools by the Dutch  Government to manage the radical transformation of the energy systems in the early 2000s. These theories represent the convergence of sustainable development research, technology forecasting, social ecological impact analysis and the fields of social history and construction of technology. They study the coevolution of technologies and their uses in order to conceive how innovations can be introduced into society to enable new ways of living and working (Elzen et al 2005; Geels 2010; Grin et al 2010)

Transition Towns was a community-based movement founded in Totnes, UK by Rob Hopkins in 2005. It has since grown into an international network of communities working to develop local resilience and autonomy and expand their capacity to respond and ‘bounce back’ from external perturbations such as economic downturns, climate change or disruptions to energy systems. Transition Towns develop local food and energy systems, alternative currencies and support the development of local businesses (Hopkins 2008).

The Great Transition was a term first used in 1964 by the economist and systems theorist Kenneth Boulding. In 1995 the Global Scenario Group began to produce a series of reports identifying multiple future-based planetary scenarios and strategies for change that could lead to the ‘Great Transition’ (improved quality of life, reduced poverty and inequity, human solidarity, enriched cultures and protection of the biosphere). In 2003 the Tellus Institute lauched the Great Transition Initiative (GTI), an international network of more than 40 scholars and activists who seek to develop and mobilize a planet-wide citizens transition movement. The concept of the Great Transition has also been adopted by several leading think tanks such as the New Economics Foundation. (Raskin et al 2002).

‘Phase transition’ is a phenomenon that describes change within complex social and natural systems that are dynamic, non-linear, self-organizing and interdependent. The term refers to the unexpected sudden ‘emergent’ changes that can occur in systems when they are subjected to outside stresses or ‘perturbations’. These changes are self-directed and cannot be predicted or controlled, yet are the source of new order (forms) and types of behavior (Goodwin 1998; Briggs & Peat 1999; Capra 1997).

Post normal science is a method of inquiry for addressing long-term issues when relatively little information is available, facts are uncertain, values are in dispute and urgent decisions and outcomes are critical (Ravetz 2007).

Transition Design draws upon multiple theories, streams of thought and movements from varied fields and disciplines:

Within the last few decades, scientists within the ecological and biological fields have proposed general principles for how all living systems work (Capra & Luisi 2014; Briggs & Peat 1999; Prigogine & Stengers 1994; Wheatley 2006). Instead of  examining phenomena by attempting to break things down into components, living systems theory explores phenomena in terms of dynamic patterns of the relationships between organisms and their environments. Principles such as self-organization, emergence, resilience, symbiosis, holarchy and interdependence, among others, can serve as leverage points for initiating and catalyzing change within complex systems (Irwin 2011b).

Transition Design proposes that more radically new ideas and compelling visions of sustainable futures are needed. There are myriad approaches to developing future based narratives that come from the field of science fiction, narrative and storytelling, future-casting/futuring and speculative and critical design to name a few. Transition Design argues that  design solutions in the present can be informed by longer-term visions of sustainable futures (Candy 2015; Dunne & Raby 2013; Porritt 2013; Manzini & Jegou 2003).

Indigenous pre-industrial societies lived sustainably in place for generations, informed by ‘slow knowledge’ that was place-based and embedded within local cultures (Orr 2004; Papanek 1995). Transition designers have much to learn from  these approaches to designing and their symbiotic relationship with the natural environment.

Coined by German activist, author and educator Wolfgang Sachs, the term ‘cosmopolitan localism’ describes a place-based lifestyle in which solutions to global problems are designed for local circumstances and tailored to specific social and ecological contexts whilst being globally connected/networked in their exchange of information, technology and resources (Sachs 1999; Manzini 2009, 2012, 2013).

Everyday life is an important yet often overlooked context for understanding society and the forces which mold it (Lefebvre 1984, 1991; Highmore 2002; Gardiner 2000). Transition Design proposes that everyday life, and lifestyles, should be the primary context within which to design for sustainable futures and improved quality of life.

Post normal science is a method of inquiry for addressing long-term issues when relatively little information is available, facts are uncertain, values are in dispute and urgent decisions and outcomes are critical (Ravetz 2007).

Within the context of lifestyles and everyday life, understanding how people go about satisfying their needs is a key strategy for developing sustainable solutions. Manfred Max-Neef’s theory of ‘needs and satisfiers’ (1992) proposes that  needs are finite and universal, but the ways in which people meet those needs are unique to their era, culture, geographic location, age and mindset. Transition Design argues that everyday life is more likely to be sustainable when communities are self-organizing and therefore in control of the satisfaction of their needs at multiple levels of scale: the household, the neighborhood, the city, the region etc.

Since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, sustainability researchers have tried to establish how best to encourage people to live in more sustainable ways. Social psychology based research, drawn from work on Health Behavior Change, aimed to  establish the connection between information and awareness, attitudes and values and behaviors and built environments. Heuristics from this work included ‘stages of change,’ ‘self-efficacy,’ ‘small steps lead to big steps,’ and ‘spill-over effect’ (Kasser 2011; Hargreaves et al 2012).

Social Practice theory looks at constellations of devices, skills, actions and meanings that form the slow-changing/inertial habits and habitats of everyday life. It designs immersive ethnographies to help identify opportunities for innovation in existing practices, and to facilitate the design of multiple interventions that can help create new, more sustainable forms of everyday life (Shove 2009, 2010).

The transition to sustainable futures will require the development of new kinds of equitable and integrated economic systems in which most needs can be satisfied locally while some remain reliant on global networks. Exploring alternative modes of exchange (outside the dominant economic paradigm) whose objective is the satisfaction of needs for everyone (as opposed to the generation of profit for a few) is an important cornerstone to developing transition solutions (Korten 1999, 2010; Douthwaite 1996; Mander 2012).

Living in and through transitional times requires a new way of ‘being’ in the world. Environmentalist and physicist Fritjof Capra has argued that the myriad problems confronting us in the 21st century are interconnected and interrelated and can be traced to a single root problem which is a ‘crisis in perception.’ He defines this crisis in perception as a mechanistic/reductionist worldview, inadequate for understanding the nature of complex systems. A shift to a more holistic/ecological worldview is one of the most powerful leverage points for transition to sustainable futures (Capra 1983; Capra & Luisi 2014; Clarke 2002; Toulmin 1990; Tarnas 2010; Meadows 2008).

Artist and poet Wolfgang von Goethe developed a phenomenological approach to understanding the ‘wholeness’ of natural organisms, particularly plants. This understanding focused on the temporal dynamics of growth, maturation and demise and looked at the symbiotic, holarchic relationship between part and whole. (Bortoft 1996, 2012; Amrine et al 1987;  Hoffman 2007; Seamon and Zajonc 1998).

The Transition Design framework outlines four mutually reinforcing and co-evolving areas of knowledge, action and self-reflection: 1) Vision; 2) Theories of Change; 3) Mindset & Posture; 4) New Ways of Designing.

Transition Design proposes that more compelling future-oriented visions are needed to inform and inspire projects in the present and that the tools and methods of design can aid in the development of these visions. Tonkinwise (2014) argues for “motivating visions as well as visions that can serve as measures against which to evaluate design moves, but visions that are also modifiable according to the changing situation.” Dunne and Raby (2013) argue that visioning creates spaces for discussion and debate about alternative futures and new ways of being. It requires us to suspend disbelief and forget how things are now and wonder about how things could be.

Transition Design proposes the development of future visions that are dynamic and grassroots based, that emerge from local conditions vs. a one-size-fits-all process, and that remain open-ended and speculative. This type of visioning is a circular, iterative and error-friendly process used to envision radically new ideas for the future that serve to inform even small, modest solutions in the present. Visions of sustainable futures can provide a means through which contemporary lifestyles and design interventions can be assessed and critiqued against a desired future state and can inform small design decisions in the present.

Various design approaches have diversified our ability to imagine the future, and inspire short, mid- and long-term solutions. Examples include Critical and Speculative Design (Dunne & Raby 2013) and backcasting and scenario based initiatives such as Manzini and Jegou’s Sustainable Everyday (2003) and Jonathon Porritt’s The World We Made (2013).

Never in history has the need for change been more urgent (Max-Neef 2011). Yet, transformational societal change will  depend upon our ability to change our ideas about change itself—how it manifests and how it can be catalyzed and  directed. Systems-level, ongoing societal change is inherently transdisciplinary—it must be informed by ideas, theories and methodologies from many varied fields and disciplines. Theories of Change is a key area within the Transition Design Framework for three important reasons: 1) A theory of change is always present within a planned/designed course of action, whether it is explicitly acknowledged or not; 2) Transition to sustainable futures will require sweeping change at every level of our society; 3) Our conventional, outmoded and seemingly intuitive ideas about change lie at the root of many wicked problems (Irwin 2011; Scott 1999; Escobar 2011).

A new, transdisciplinary body of knowledge is emerging that explains the dynamics of change within complex systems and challenges our current paradigms and assumptions. These ideas have the potential to inform new approaches to design and problem solving. Ideas and discoveries from a diversity of fields such as physics, biology, sociology and organizational development have revealed that change within open, complex systems such as social organizations and ecosystems manifests in counter-intuitive ways. And, although change within such systems can be catalyzed and even gently directed, it cannot be managed or controlled, nor can outcomes be accurately predicted (Capra & Luisi 2014; Wheatley 2006; Meadows 2008; Brigs & Peat 1990; Prigogine & Stengers 1994). The Transition Design Framework is a fluid, evolving body of knowledge and ideas, often from outside design, whose objective is to provide designers with new tools and  methodologies to initiate and catalyze transitions toward more sustainable futures.

Living in and through transitional times calls for self-reflection and new ways of ‘being’ in the world. Fundamental change is often the result of a shift in mindset or worldview that leads to different ways of interacting with others. Our individual and collective mindsets represent the beliefs, values, assumptions and expectations formed by our individual experiences, cultural norms, religious and spiritual beliefs and the socioeconomic and political paradigms to which we subscribe (Capra 1997; Kearney 1984; Clarke 2002). Designers’ mindsets and postures often go unnoticed and unacknowledged but they  profoundly influence what is identified as a problem and how it is framed and solved within a given context. Transition  Design asks designers to examine their own value system and the role it plays in the design process and argues that solutions will be best conceived within a more holistic worldview that informs more collaborative and responsible postures for interaction. Transition Design examines the phenomenon of mindset and worldview and its connection in wicked problems (Kearney 1984, Linderman 2012; Tarnas 2010; Capra and Luisi 2014; Irwin 2011a).

The transition to a sustainable society will require design approaches informed by new and different value sets and knowledge. Transition Designers see themselves as agents of change and are ambitious in their desire to transform systems. They understand how to work iteratively, at multiple levels of scale, over long horizons of time. Because transition designers develop visions of the ‘long now’ (Brand 1999), they take a decidedly different approach to problem solving in the present. Transition Designers learn to see and solve for wicked problems and view a single design or solution as a single step in a longer transition toward a future-based vision. Some solutions have intentionally short life-spans and are designed to become obsolete as steps toward a longer- term goal. Other solutions are designed to change/evolve over long periods of time. Transition Designers look for ‘emergent possibilities’ within problem contexts, as opposed to imposing pre-planned and fully resolved solutions upon a situation. This way of designing must be informed by a deep understanding of local eco-systems and culture.

Transition Designers work in three broad areas:

1. They develop powerful narratives and visions of the future or the ‘not yet’ (Bloch 1995; de Sousa Santos 2006).

2. They amplify and connect grassroots efforts undertaken by local communities and organizations (Penin 2013; Manzini 2007, 2015). Service design or social innovation solutions can be steps within long-term transition solutions.

3. They work in transdisciplinary teams to design new, innovative and place-based solutions rooted in and guided by transition visions.

Although we consider Transition Design to be a distinctive way of designing, it is complementary to other design approaches such as design for service and design for social innovation. Transition Design requires a commitment to ongoing learning and personal change as well as the tenacity to change a system through multiple, iterative
interventions over time.

To add upcoming relevant events and publications to this list, please email us at: transitiondesign@andrew.cmu.edu.

Transition Design Short Course
June 17-24, 2016
Schumacher College, Devon, England
Get more information about the short course

Transition Design Symposium
June 17 – 19, 2016
Darlington Hall, Devon, England
Bookings are open NOW

Design Philosophy Papers: Transition Design Monograph
Forthcoming in early 2016, a collection of essays on Transition Design that emerged out of the March 2016 Transition Design Symposium.
Editor: Anne-Marie Willis; guest editors: Gideon Kossoff, Terry Irwin, Cameron Tonkinwise

Design and Culture Journal; Volume 7, Issue 2, 2015
Transition Design: A Proposal for a New Area of Design Practice, Study and Research
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17547075.2015.1051829

Transition Design Symposium: March 2015
A Transition Design Symposium was hosted at the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University on March 7, 2015 and was attended by the School’s doctoral alumni, faculty and several invited guests. The purpose of this symposium was to extend the Transition Design conversation beyond the School and develop a body of material that can be shared with other educators, researchers and practitioners. Among the guests attending were: Ezio Manzini, Milan Polytechnico; Arturo Escobar, University of Chapel Hill; Anne-Marie Willis, editor, Design Philosophy Papers; Lara Penin & Eduardo Staszowski, Parsons New School; Damian White, Rhode Island School of Design; and Dennis Doordan, University of Notre Dame.