Engaging Design: Tools for Design Practices Urging New Forms of Citizenships

Beyond aesthetics, towards action—how design can foster social change and ecological responsibility.

Engaging Design investigates how design can catalyze social and environmental change by fostering community agency and sustainable transformation. Combining expert interviews and actionable strategies, this book redefines design as an active process that bridges human and ecological challenges.

It showcases lived experiences and creative interventions that empower citizens to shape their environments, providing practical methods that can be learned and adapted. Surpassing traditional design approaches, Engaging Design advocates for a decolonized, participatory practice that fuels community-led transitions. A must-read for creative campaigners and design disruptors, this book urges designers to rethink their role in shaping a more just and sustainable world.

Laura Ferrarello is a senior researcher at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.
 

Rob Phillips is a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art Design Futures Programme.