Art and Design Commons^™

Design At The Front, Otto Von Busch

Nordes Conference Series

Over the last year, fierce discussion have raged about the trend of socially engaged design, where such projects have been scolded as new forms of “design imperialism” (cf. Nussbaum 2010; Pilloton 2010; Sinclair 2010). Resonating with this discussion, the latest US Army Field Manual has included “design” as a central feature in the core battle doctrine. Are we seeing the birth of a “social design doctrine” employed to wage war? It is tempting to draw parallels between design and the developments of military thinking to reflect some of the issues at stake as design turns to address social, cultural and …