The Critical Catalyst: A Critical Approach to Design Futures Literacy

Design and Future Studies are intrinsically related fields. Both fields pursue the goal to introduce potential visions of the future to achieve a sustainable future for humanity. However, future challenges are becoming more evident with the increasing ubiquity of socio-technological advancements. Over the past three decades, several movements have emerged with the shared objective of being critical of design (Mazé, 2019); these movements are attempting to operate outside the external borders of market-driven enquiry (Malpass, 2017). These practices require a critical examination of the possibilities to achieve change that mitigate unfavourable consequences. This paper reflects on the way that the Research through Design approach can affect these practices through the activities and devices we have developed and refer to as the Critical Catalyst (CC). We applied this approach to MSc students in Integrated Product Design at the Design School at the Politecnico di Milano. The results of this experience are condensed into nine provo-types (provocative prototypes) presented at the end of the course. This paper examines the CC design future process and reflects upon the experience and tools by analysing the critical choices.