Unleashing the Wild Exploring Feral Design’s Power to Thrive in the Anthropocene

Main Article Content

Spyros Bofylatos

Abstract

Feral design aims to act as a transformative framework for design in the Anthropocene. This paper explores its potential to navigate the crises of modernity through a speculative deconstruction of three discrete case studies. Analysing said case studies of counter-culture movements’ operating at the fringes of the law reveals valuable insights into creativity, adaptability, and diffuse design capacity. The essence of feral design has been distilled into five principles, aiming to establish design methodologies. It calls for broader engagement from design researchers to expand the discourse and advance design practices in the Anthropocene. Feral design aims to act as a redirective practice that subverts modern design practice to enable its transition towards sustainment. By understanding the values embodied by different feral entities that respond to the collapse of traditional systems we can better understand how the principles of feral design can be embodied. 

Article Details

Author Biography

Spyros Bofylatos, Royal College of Art

Dr Spyros Bofylatos is a Tutor (Research) in the Design Products MA. He has worked in various research projects dealing with design as an agent of change. His research sprawls around design for sustainability, craft, material driven design and social innovation. He has more than a decade of experience in design education and creative facilitation having taught in Greece, India, Germany, Portugal and the UK.

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