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Non human centered design
Graphic
2024
This collaborative project between KISD and HKU explored how design can move beyond traditional human centered approaches and consider the needs of other living beings and ecosystems. Working with students from Utrecht, we investigated how design could contribute to the protection of species and create more sustainable relationships between humans and nature. Our group focused on wild bees, particularly the earth bumblebee, and the challenges they face as their natural habitats disappear. Through our research, we discovered that the common idea of “saving the bees” often focuses on honeybees, while many wild bee species remain overlooked. This became the starting point for questioning how design and communication could create a more differentiated understanding of the issue. Our project developed along two connected directions. The first was a product concept designed to provide safe nesting spaces for bumblebees. The resulting “Bee Mine” takes the visual language of a landmine and transforms it into a symbolic object placed in agricultural environments. Its form provides the conditions needed for bumblebees to establish their nests, while the appearance creates a visual warning for humans to leave the space undisturbed. The concept plays with the contrast between something designed to keep humans away and something designed to welcome another species in. The second part was a four poster campaign addressing different aspects of the relationship between humans and wild bees. The posters explored topics including habitat loss, pesticides, the public perception of bees and the Bee Mine concept itself. We worked with strong visual contrasts between abstract and illustrative styles, different colour approaches and horizontal and vertical compositions to create a campaign that could function within urban space. The project combined research, product concept development, visual communication and speculative design. Working across two cities and different educational backgrounds also made collaboration an important part of the process. It challenged us to question established design principles and consider what design could look like when humans are no longer the primary user. The project ultimately became an exploration of how design can create space for other species rather than simply designing nature around human needs.
30 Second Film ↵
↳ Kallax
