Undesign: Critical Practices at the Intersection of Art and Design

Undesign brings together leading artists, designers and theorists working at the intersection of art and design. The text focuses on design practices, and conceptual approaches, which challenge the traditional notion that design should emphasise its utility over aesthetic or other non-functional considerations. This publication brings to light emerging practices that consider the social, political and aesthetic potential of "undesigning" our complex designed world. In documenting these new developments, the book highlights the overlaps with science, engineering, biotechnology and hacktivism, which operate at the intersection of art and design.

Gretchen Coombs is an early career academic exploring socially engaged art and design practices in the US, the UK and Australia. She combines the skills from her PhD in social and cultural anthropology with her MA in visual criticism to write essays on contemporary culture. Gretchen is currently a postdoctoral research fellow in Design & Creative Practice and a core member of the Digital Ethnography Research Centre at RMIT. She is the CoEditor for Art & the Public Sphere.

Andrew McNamara is an art historian and Professor of Visual Arts at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. His publications include: Sweat – the subtropical imaginary (2011); An Apprehensive Aesthetic (2009); Modern Times: The Untold Story of Modernism in Australia, with Ann Stephen and Philip Goad (2008); plus Surpassing Modernity: Ambivalence in Art, Politics and Society (2018). He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Australian chair of the Comité International d’Histoire de l’art (CIHA).

Gavin Sade is currently the Associate Dean (Academic) in the Creative Industries Faculty at the Queensland University of Technology. He is also an internationally recognised practice-led researcher in the field of electronic arts and interactive media, and has been commissioned to produce creative works for international biennials and festivals, art galleries and public institutions, as well as private companies. His academic research occurs at the intersection at Art, Design, Science and Technology, and focuses on the way interdisciplinary creative-practices contribute to the generation of new knowledge and innovation.