Systems Design: An Introduction to the world of regenerative systems design.

SYST EMS DES IGN

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF R E G E R E N E R AT I V E SYSTEMS DESIGN

Workshop assets 1

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Exploring systems

Empathy Gym

Whiteboard

Empathy Gym card display & stands (optional)

Magnetic stickers (optional)

Postcards (Dry Erase postcards optional)

Whiteboard markers & erasers

Whiteboard markers & erasers

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Designing Alternative Futures

Whiteboard Printed magnetic tiles Postcards (Dry Erase postcards optional) Whiteboard markers & erasers

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Table of Contents

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hroughout this document, there will be two different areas in each section, differentiated by colour and symbol.

These separate instructions and prompts for the facilitator from the student activities.

Facilitator instructions and prompts.

Student activities Extended time activities

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Introduction

T

his workshop can be run in 2 hours, however will need to be fully facilitated to fit within this time-frame. Longer timeframes will allow greater participation and discussion between the three activities. This document is accompanied by a student facing PDF to be projected to aid the workshop.

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2 3 4 Exploring Systems

Empathy Gym

Designing Alternative Futures

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Introduction to Architecture & Design Introduce yourself, and where you are from.

If time allows, go around the room and ask students to introduce themselves.

Question for students: What aspect of design interests you and why?

*Introduce School of Architecture & Design at the University of Tasmania here. *

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What is design?

Question for students:

Write down student answers on whiteboard.

What do you think design is?

Show the design equation.

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What is design?

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Intention What do we want or desire?

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Change In response to some unmet needs or changes that need to occur

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Iteration is the process of going between our intentions and the unmet needs within…

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Within the Constraints of reality

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Outcomes Often multiple, some intentional, some unintentional

Question for students: What do you think design is?

Write down student answers on whiteboard.

Use this equation to unpack design examples.

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Outcomes go on to inform ongoing iteration and subsequent designs

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What is regenerative design?

Question for students: Who has heard of the word regenerative?

What might it mean?

Write down student answers on the whiteboard.

Show definition of regenerative design

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Regenerative design is an approach to creating and improving systems, processes and environments.

It goes beyond sustainability and aims to make our social and environmental systems resilient so they can flourish.

Explo Syst SYSTEMS DESI

oring tems GN WORKSHOP

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What is a system?

Show Heap vs System

Question for students: What is the difference between these two images?

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Heap vs System A

heap is a collection of parts that have no relationship or impact on one another.

Show Heap vs System definition.

A

system is a collection of parts that have relationships to one another and the whole.

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What systems are you part of?

Question for students:

Longer workshops exercise:

What are some examples of systems?

The class is given examples of heaps or systems and they need to identify what they could or would be.

What systems are you part of?

E.g.: electrical components could be a lighting system, paper and ink could be a book, etc

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What systems work well?

Identify systems that exhibit positive interactions and outcomes.

Question for students: What systems do they think work well?

Possible prompts: Transport, communication, healthcare, energy, education, manufacturing, weather forecasting.

Document this on a whiteboard . Of course many of these systems may not work well, but this becomes a lead into the next question...

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What systems do not work well?

Identify systems with shortcomings or limited impacts.

Question for students: What systems do not work well?

What elements of the system are broken?

Why is this happening?

What is causing this?

What is behind this issue?

Document this on a whiteboard

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What is systems thinking?

Question for students: What is systems thinking?

Write down student answers on the whiteboard.

Show Systems Thinking definition

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Systems thinking helps us to see patterns and understand wholes.

To discover the relationships between things, because everything is connected Leverage points are places in a system where a small amount of change can have an outsized impact on the system.

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Systems mapping.

Identify a *system* (this could be a system that the students have proposed or not).

System examples are: food, transport, school, health.

If you have less than 20 minutes, you will need to facilitate this systems mapping.

Ask the students to call out parts of the system, write them up and map them out.

Prompt for students: Today we are exploring *Food* Systems. Call out elements of the system and tell me how they are connected to the other elements.

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If you have more than 20 mins to work this activity, ask students to write on the white board and contribute to the system, drawing connections between the elements.

Prompt for students: Today we are exploring *Food* Systems. Please take a whiteboard marker and add an element to the system, draw a line to show how it is connected to the other elements.

Wool systems mapping process, Tasmania.

2023 3rd year Bachelor of Design students.

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Identifying leverage points.

Once the system has been mapped out ask the student to identify problems or things that could be improved about the system.

What about this system could be improved or changed?

Are there places in the system that if changed would have a big impact?

Identify these leverage points with a different colour to be able to refer back to later.

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WO OL SYSTE M S MAP

Market Demand

Non-wearables

Felting

Wholesalers

International Market

AWTA

RWS

Working Standards

Quality Control

Working Standards

Shearer

Wool Testing

Shearing

Livelihood

Sheep Sheep

Animal Health

Selling System

Selling System

Caretakers

Habitat

Buying International Wool

Internation Sales of Clean Wool

Blankets

Worsted Processing

Private Buyer

Unused Wool

Market Demand Market Demand

Consumer Use of Product

Local Apparel Makers Dyeing

Yarn

Processing Mill

Needs Wool Washed

Wool Storage

End of Life

Retailers

Materials

Craft Market

Donating

Market Demand

Market Demand

Woolen Processing

Disuse of Product

Shared Use of Product

New Use of Product

Recycling

Waste Story Telling

Removal of Dust and Grease Farming Standards

Weaving

International Market

Auction

Herding

Land

Spinning

Selling System

Storing Excess Wool

Sustainable Practices Land Care

Combing

Broker Wool

Farming Standards

Dead stock

Exporting Market Demand

Market Demand

Trading

Selling System

International Market

Market Demand

Exporting Overseas

Selling System

Selling Systems

Farmer

Insulation

Land Management

Scouring

New Use for Waste

Dust + Grease Seperation

Communication on Designs

Topmaking

Byproducts

Spinning

Knitting

Marketing

Story Telling

Designer Identity

Wool Dust

Branding

Lanolin

Wool systems map, Tasmania. 2023 Toni Baker, Amy Hilliard & Mitchell Williams

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Empa Gy SYSTEMS DESI

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athy ym GN WORKSHOP

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Empathy Gym

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n this second part of the workshop, we are going to identify the human and nonhuman actors in the system and work to empathise with them.

Our goal is to understand their needs and desires, and to question if they are met or unmet in the current system.

Examples from a food system might be: farmer, insects, water etc...

Show the Empathy Gym example

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Empathy is the act of seeing the world through the eyes of another living being.

We try to understand: What do they feel? What do they need? How do they see and experience?

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Who are the human, and nonhuman actors in this system?

Questions for students: What are their needs and desires?

Do all of the actors have their needs and wants met?

Who doesn’t and why not?

How would the system have to change to accommodate the unmet needs of the actors?

As these actors are named, provide the students with a card for them to draw the actor and name them. This prevents duplication of actors.

Ask the students to leave space on the card for them to write down the needs (met and unmet) and desires of that actor.

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Desig Altern Futu SYSTEMS DESI

gning native ures GN WORKSHOP

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Designing Alternative Futures

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n this third part of the workshop, we are will look to find design interventions in the systems map and design alternative futures.

These design interventions might be opportunities, problems discovered, they might questions why things are done in a certain way, or address the unmet need of the actors from the Empathy Gym.

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Be guided by systems thinking & regenerative design.

Question for students:

Question for students:

Where are the patterns and relationships and how are things connected?

Do all of the actors in the Empathy Gym have their needs and desires met?

How can our imagined futures seek to improve the health, quality and diversity of life?

Who doesn’t and why not?

How would the system have to change to accommodate these needs and desires?

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How would you change this system?

Prompts for students: Look at the leverage points from the system mapping, and the unmet needs of the actors from the Empathy Gym. Based on this, have a discussion about what could change in this system?

Write a description of this alternative future on a post card.

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What would this alternative system look like?

Identify points of change on the systems map, and try to capture this on a card with a title and a short written description.

Prompts for students: Draw or build out what this change would look like on the whiteboard using the printed tiles and whiteboard markers.

Take a photo of the completed alternative future and the description card.

CREDITS

This workshop was developed as part of a Work Integrated Learning Unit as part of the Bachelor of Design program, 2023.

Amy Hilliard, Cat Phuong Nguyen & Mitchell Williams designed and developed the assets and tested the workshops.

VA N E S S A WA R D C O U R S E C O O R D I N ATO R , B AC H E LO R O F D E S I G N SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

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