Contributor:
Brian Frandsen

Strategic Designer

April 25th, 2025Events, , , , , , , 9 min

Redesigning the premises of design

If we want to practice planetary design, we need to rethink the very foundations of what design is. At the 20th anniversary celebration of the Master of Design program at the Royal Danish Academy, over 100 designers came together to explore how this fundamental shift might take shape.

Over the past two centuries, the role and purpose of design have evolved dramatically. Historically, design was seen primarily as a profession focused on creating functional or aesthetic products and services.

With the rise of design thinking and user-centered methodologies, design expanded its scope, becoming a tool for solving complex problems across disciplines. Today, design is widely used in both organizations and institutions. However, despite this evolution, its core foundation remains anthropocentric—centering human needs and perspectives while overlooking the rights and needs of other life forms.

Rethinking Design at Its Core

In this era of ecological crisis, we must ask a deeper question: Who do we design for? To practice planetary design, we need to broaden our perspective to include natural systems and other living species. This requires more than new tools—it calls for a complete rethinking of the underlying assumptions of design itself. In other words, we need to redesign the premise of design.

A Collective Reflection on the Future of Design

This fundamental challenge became the focus of the anniversary celebration, which gathered more than a hundred designers to reflect on two decades of design research and practice.

Professor Ida Engholm opened the event with a powerful keynote tracing the historical development of design and design research. She challenged participants to move toward a new approach she called Planetary Design Thinking—a framework that blends systemic theory, design theory, and traditional wisdom to establish a new basis for how we define design and its impact.

Experiencing Planetary Design Thinking Through DesignWISE

Following the keynote, participants were invited to experience a methodology called DesignWISE, developed from the foundation outlined in Engholm’s research. Gathered in a large circle that filled the celebration hall, participants were guided by Christina Reedtz Funder through a reflective process inspired by the medicine wheel of Indigenous cultures.

Through a series of facilitated questions, the process gently led participants toward imagining what the future foundations of design could—and should—be.

Voices from the Future

The event concluded with each participant contributing a statement written from the perspective of future generations. These messages responded to the long-term impact of today’s design decisions and expressed hopes for a more regenerative and inclusive design practice.

These imagined voices have since been synthesized into three future stories, each told by a representative of the next generations. The stories celebrate the courage and vision of designers who dare to change the foundational “why” and “how” of design for a more planetary future.

Watch the three stories below.

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“Thank you for daring” – Elin from 2105

Hello. I come from what was once your future. I’m here to say thank you. Not for perfection. But for courage. For honesty. For daring to make decisions that only made sense to us.

You knew everything was at stake. That the seed you planted might never grow in your lifetime. But you did it anyway. And because of that, we can now breathe. The air is cleaner. The rivers run freely. The planet has been granted rights – and we’ve learned to listen.

Thank you for what you let go of. The siloed thinking. The myth of endless more. You released the idea of humans as rulers and created a community where everyone belonged – even those not yet born.

I still feel your doubt, but I also feel your decision to take responsibility. You chose transformation over control. Relationship over power. And when you let go of the material, you gave rise to a new kind of wealth – one we now share.

We live with fewer things, but greater joy. We are connected – to each other and the world. Your seed became a forest of actions and hope.

So if you’re listening now: Let go even more. Of the pace. Of the pressure to be ready. And nourish what grows in community. It doesn’t have to be finished – just alive.

Hej. Jeg kommer fra det, der engang var jeres fremtid. Jeg er her for at sige tak. Ikke for det perfekte. Men for det modige. For det ærlige. For at du turde tage beslutninger, som først gav mening for os.

Du vidste godt, at alt stod på spil. At frøet du plantede måske aldrig ville vokse i din levetid. Men du gjorde det alligevel. Og fordi du gjorde det, kan vi nu trække vejret. Luften er renere. Vandet flyder frit. Planeten har fået sine rettigheder – og vi har lært at lytte.

Jeg vil sige tak for, at du slap noget. Silo-tænkningen. Forestillingen om mere, mere, mere. Du slap ideen om mennesket som hersker og skabte i stedet et fællesskab, hvor alle hørte til – også de, der endnu ikke var født.

Jeg mærker stadig din tvivl, men også din beslutning om at tage ansvar. Du valgte forvandling frem for kontrol. Relation frem for magt. Og da du slap det materielle, skabte du en ny form for rigdom – én, vi nu deler.

Vi lever med færre ting, men større glæde. Vi er forbundet – med hinanden og med verden. Dit frø blev til en skov af handlinger og håb.

Så, hvis du lytter nu: Giv endnu mere slip. På tempoet. På kravet om at være klar. Og giv mere næring til det, der spirer i fællesskab. Det behøver ikke være færdigt – bare levende.

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“You saw us before we existed” – Ari from 2150

When I look back, I know this: you saw us – long before we were born. You imagined a world we could live in. And that vision was enough to change everything.

You gave us air. Space. Time to breathe and grow. You chose values that couldn’t fit in spreadsheets. You planted vineyards instead of pipelines. You built stories instead of silos.

Today we live in circular rhythms. Our communities move with the seasons, not with schedules. There is poetry in our systems. Trust in our designs. And a quiet, deep joy in simply being alive.

It wasn’t easy for you. You had to give up comfort, control, the urge to master everything. But in doing so, you created space – for complexity, for care, for beauty. You stepped away from profit and toward purpose.

We remember how you gathered around the fire. How you let go of urgency. How you listened – really listened – to the logic of life.

So here’s what I ask of you: Let go of the need to prove. Instead – deepen your listening. Share your stories. Speak from your heart, not your résumé. That’s how we came into being.

Når jeg ser tilbage, forstår jeg, at du så os – længe før vi fandtes. Du forestillede dig en verden, vi kunne leve i. Og det billede, den drøm, var nok til at forandre alt.

Du gav os luft. Rum. Tid til at trække vejret og vokse. Du valgte værdier, der ikke kunne måles i regneark. Du plantede vinmarker i stedet for rørledninger. Du byggede fortællinger i stedet for siloer.

I dag lever vi i cirkulære rytmer. Vores fællesskaber følger årstiderne, ikke tidsplaner. Der er poesi i vores systemer. Tillid i vores design. Og en stille, dyb glæde i bare at være til.

Det var ikke let for dig. Du måtte give slip på komfort. På kontrol. På trangen til at mestre alt. Men netop i dét skabte du plads – til kompleksitet, til omsorg, til skønhed. Du bevægede dig væk fra profit og hen mod mening.

Vi husker, hvordan du samledes om bålet. Hvordan du gav slip på hastværket. Hvordan du lyttede – virkelig lyttede – til livets logik.

Og nu beder jeg dig: Giv slip på behovet for at bevise noget. I stedet – lyt dybere. Del dine fortællinger. Tal fra dit hjerte, ikke dit CV. Det var sådan, vi blev til.

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“I am the sprout you gave life” – Liora from 2125

I am the sprout you never saw blossom. But I’ve grown – because you dared to open the soil. Because you listened with your skin. Because you sensed the world without needing to own it.

I live in a time where value is no longer measured in growth, but in closeness. Where gardens smell of tomatoes, and the village children know how to harvest dew. We follow the rhythms of the seasons – not fight them.

You gave up control. You let go of irony. You taught us to breathe. To feel the wind. To listen to shadows and speak to forests.

Now we know: nothing in the world is a means – everything is an end in itself. We no longer ask, “What do I get from this?” but, “How am I in this?”

Because you let go, we can now pass it on. You set the impulse in motion. You let us feel the warmth of the earth and understand that everything is fleeting – and that is what makes it precious.

So my wish for you is this: Make it sensual. Create with your senses – not just your mind. Go barefoot in the process. Make room for the living. Let your decisions smell like rain.

Jeg er spiren, du ikke så blomstre. Men jeg er vokset, fordi du turde åbne jorden. Fordi du lyttede med huden. Fordi du sansede verden uden at ville eje den.

Jeg lever i en tid, hvor værdi ikke længere måles i vækst, men i nærhed. Hvor haven dufter af tomater, og landsbyens børn ved, hvordan man høster dug. Vi kender årstidernes rytmer, og vi lever med dem – ikke imod dem.

Du gav slip på kontrollen. Du slap ironien. Du lærte os at trække vejret. At mærke vinden. At lytte til skyggerne og tale med skoven.

Vi ved nu, at intet i verden er et middel – alt er mål i sig selv. Vi spørger ikke længere: “Hvad får jeg ud af det?”, men: “Hvordan er jeg i det?”

Fordi du turde give slip, kan vi nu give videre. Du satte impulsen i gang. Du lod os mærke jordens varme og forstå, at alting er forgængeligt – og netop derfor værdifuldt.

Så mit ønske til dig er: Gør det sanseligt. Skab med dine sanser – ikke kun dit sind. Gå barfodet i processen. Giv plads til det levende. Og lad dine beslutninger dufte af regn.

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