Institute for Design Innovation Speaker Series

Designing the Commons Seminar Series

This seminar series is organised by the Institute for Design Innovation, Loughborough University London as part of the ‘Counter-Framing Design‘ project.

The concept of the commons is mutable and its relevance in the age of digital capitalism hotly contested. Yet, at the onset of the COVID crisis, new commons emerged that responded to frontline struggles in crucial and urgent ways – through the formation of solidarity networks, digital knowledge commons to contest hegemonic digital infrastructures and support mutual aid, alongside community groups who acted to reclaim decaying public spaces in the face of physical distance measures. At the same time, concepts of commons emerge in new visions of the Welfare state (Cottam, 2020)*, that risk being jeopardised by idealist interpretations thereof. Conceiving the commons as a shared collective practice, this interdisciplinary seminar series will focus on these issues and debates to unravel the relevance of commons today, through the lens of design. 

Upcoming events

Past events