DAMN°83

DAMN° is an independent publication with open-minded views on the interchangeable worlds of design, architecture and art. In making meaningful connections rather than dictating tastes, its approach to storytelling brings editorial content beyond hype or conventional academic debate. Unafraid to link the personal and the political, the economic and the emotional, the stylistic and the social, DAMN° is ultimately about discoveries that aim to provoke a reaction…whether it be a thought or a smile.

In this issue:
2022 and beyond we are faced with an almighty choice – to return to old patterns or to leap forward into a radical and uncertain future. Right now is the moment when big design decisions that will shape the coming era are being made. And yet everywhere we look economic, social, and political forces are pulling us in two directions. One direction will accelerate us forward, the other backwards. Will we move towards the revolution of possibility?

This revolution of possibility is driven by education, science, innovation, and design.

Design education in all its form whether it be industrial, speculative or theoretical is where the benefits and methods of acting collectively for a global good can germinate and come true. But most urgently education – especially in culture – must break itself free from the shackles of being too often connected to preserving the stuff quo. Educating students to think freely enough to visualise and defend a different and fairer type of world while still making sense in the existing world is a necessary balancing act.

For designers artists and architects nothing is more exciting than a world improving itself. Our daily lives can be smarter, lighter, greener, more equitable, more open and accessible, and more beautiful. From the energy we use to the products we buy, from the food we eat to the ways we interact with our environment and with one another, everything is being redesigned to better meet our needs.