Xenodesignerly Ways of Knowing

GRAPHIC DESIGN PUBLICATION

"Can we design ourselves out of the human-centered practices that have for years dominated the field of design, in turn developing a more inclusive, multi-perspective design approach that utilizes xeno discourses and conceptual design?" Johanna Schmeer

"Xenodesignerly Ways of Knowing” proposes the development of a more inclusive, multi-perspective design practices, taking the complex entanglements of humans and other entities into consideration. In the essay artist Johanna Schmeer introduces the notion of xenodesign. Xenodesign engages with experiences beyond the human and understands all entities on an equal level — humans, ecologies, bacteria, air, soil, artificial intelligences, etc.

I worked together with artist Johanna Schmeer to develop the publication design and artworks for her essay "Xenodesignerly Ways of Knowing”. (Published on MIT Press Journal of Design and Science.)

The publication design flirts with and deconstructs the mainstream and sleek aesthetics of user-centered design (buttons, forms, user interface elements). Xenodesign as a future way of understanding, experiencing and designing beyond human. The artworks in the publication reflect on the ideas of xenodesign, speculative realism, and xeno discourse.

Circular elements introduced throughout the publication represent user-centric design, inclusion, and solidarity. They merge with futuristic, non-human 3d sculptures that are my interpretation of the idea of "the other" & "alien". Combined together in surreal landscapes they represent a changing definition of a 'user' and blur the lines between speculative and real.