design studio IV (strategic design) - auto ethnography / bitacora
hey there :-) here is my intro-perspective journal of strategic design.
HOW TO READ MY BITACORA:
this color is theory, class take aways, and case study references.
this color is project advancements
anddd this color is personal references + reflections/ analysis from my life that relate to strategic design / final project
this color is theory, class take aways, and case study references.
this color is project advancements
anddd this color is personal references + reflections/ analysis from my life that relate to strategic design / final project
VIEW BY WEEKS:
WEEK 1 + 2
4/9
* Vázquez is pushing back against the modern/colonial idea of a universal, detached self (the “view from nowhere”) and calling for a decolonial understanding of identity. To be a positioned self means:
- recognizing your specific place in power relations
- respecting the multiplicity of worlds and histories.
- and accepting responsibility for how you are implicated in ongoing structures of inequality.
* VUCA World
designing considering the VUCA terms: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complex, and Ambiguity
* Strategic Design is about creating your own model or framework.
* Desire in Design
importance of directing energy and effort towards movements that give rise to form and meaning, coexist within the same plane rather than apart.
11/9
* complex systems, understanding that complex systems are a variety of connections and multilayered. these systems entail of non linear relationships and unpredictable results.
* the importance of understanding the consequences of designing.
* complicated versus complex systems
each system to an extent relies on the other. for example a pilot flying a plane is a complicated system, it requieres time and effort but it can be done, on the other hand a complex system in this scenario would be the conditions the pilot is flying in, unpredictable and incalculable.
*separate pieces in order to bring back together: “the whole is more than the sum of its parts.” Aristotle
*emotions can cloud reality and as a result not allowing you to see the patterns in systems.
4/9
*Barcelona Super Blocks*
redesigning streets to favor pedestrians over automobiles
*Forest Fires Madrid Outskirts*
design decisions can lead to the problem, importance in analyzing all possible outcomes of design, negative or positive.
*Liz Sanders Strategic Design Diagram*
tools
11/9
*Donella Meadows, Dancing with Systems*
how you cannot control or design systems but you can dance with them to understand them.
PROJECT ADVANCEMENTS
4/9
group formation (Charles Martel, Isabel Valero, Pao Gutierrez, Anya Gomez)
sdg selection (sdg 9- industry, innovation, and infrastructure)
9/9
initial stages of unpacking and addressing our SDG 9 (industry, innovation, + infrastructure) from the root of the problem.
we began by analyzing certain realms of this SDG. one of those being hydro energy and analyzing the impact of AI data centers to our communities. we analyzed the possibility of creating a hydro clean data center around madrid. after research and better understandings we left this route and began the pursue of a new route
11/9
mapping why we care about this sdg and understanding the stakeholders within it. wanting to promote degrowth and controlled city growth, we began investigating and
mapping our interests and thoughts.
14/9
* in ontology design it is important to address what kind of world we are designing from and for who?
* shifting narratives
changing the narrative of human domination to ecological participation when considering life centered design.
* Arturo Escobar: rejected one size fits all solutions, he believed in designing with, rather than for, communities and systems.
Escobar rejects modernist principles of functionality, profit, and unilinear definitions, believes that these have led to our current overproduction and consumption.
strongly believed in the degrowth of modernism: he questions excess of rationalism, commodification, and ecological domination. reflects the coupling of progress with exponential growth. a life centered design advocate, believes that having an only exclusive focus on the human user ultimately blinds us from broader, ecological, and ethical concerns. stated how the user is not just the consumer but the whole ecosystem.
*Escobar and the Pluriverse*
the pluriverse is the concept of a world where many worlds fit. Escobar believed in unlearning 3 main principles of design in order to design adequately and for a pluriverse.
1. unlearning the idea of designers as experts
- designers must let go of control, and learn to embrace uncertainty
- expertise becomes shared and distributed, almost invisible
2. unlearning the idea that problems are universal
- challenges the concept that every challenge must be framed as a “problem” in order to be fixed.
3. unlearning that all knowledge is designable
- not everything can or should be a framework.
- lives in stories, rituals, landscapes, or symbols cannot be captured or translated into design terms, doing so can flatten context or harm the information shared
- not everything needs to be mapped, visualized, or made actionable
- SOME INSIGHTS ARE MEANT TO INFORM BEING, NOT DOING, RESPECT OPACITY.
14/9
*Arturo Escobar*
author of designs for the pluriverse
*Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and Making of Worlds. *
* “The notion of one world world signals the predominant idea in the west that we all live within a single world, made up of one, underlying reality and many cultures. This imperialistic notion supposes the west’s ability to arrogate for itself the right to be the world.” - arturo escobar
15/9
*brainstorming intervention points of our SDG.
16/9
*presentation day and feedback,
-rethink incentives through business growth and discuss internal growth
- understand the essence of our project and where we want to go
18/9
*understanding complex adaptive systems and their ability to adapt, organize, and evolve.
*Ezio Manzini, Everybody Design
diffuse design versus expert design
*Participatory Design, 1970 Scandinavia
- leads to workplace democracy and social empowerment
18/9
*Ezio Manzini*
When Everybody Designs
* Participatory Design
PROJECT ADVANCEMENTS
(Click on photo for Link)
*Over the summer I attended the Worlds Hangliding and Paragliding International Competition in Ager, Lerida. Where I witnessed first hand the stable growth of this small town through the sports industry.
*Colorado Springs Olympic Sports Center Case Study
*This led us to consider how different industries can bring economic and stable population growth
*After choosing our case study of a town; Patones de Arriba we began our research. Patones de Arriba is a small town located 1 hour from the capital. The town has a total population of 48 full time residents and a slowly dying economy according to sources we found.
-considering this knowledge it could be interesting to explore a route in this direction.
- how can we utilize the environment surrounding Patones de Arriba to promote sustainable natural growth and relocation of high adrenaline sports?
-what can we learn from Ager, Lerida and its economic + population boom from flight sports?
-could Patones de Arriba possibly be redesigned to utilize its surroundings to become the next Colorado Springs Olympic Facility but for the Spanish Capital with a highlight on outdoor sports?
This weekend I watched a movie based on the true story of one of Tinders original Co-Founders. This true story is about the lack of credit she received and the sexual and workplace abuse she endured as an original founder of the app. The movie had many key points that stood out to me but at the very beginning of the movie Whitney Wolfe is asked what she wants to dedicate her life to. She pauses and proceeds to say that she doesn’t know, but knows what she doesn’t want to do.
“I know what I don’t want to do I don’t want to sell people things they don’t need, I don’t want to have a job that I have to pretend is interesting when I tell my friends, and I don’t want to do something that I have to tell myself has value when it actually kind of doesn’t”
What stood out to me about this was the initial part of her quote, how she sets her values and barriers in what she believes in. If I want to relay this in the terms of design, consumers need to stop being sold and marketed products or services that they don’t need. But how can this relate to my project?
I think we should consider the butterfly effects that design can create. I believe its important for designers to consider the idea that not every thing needs to be “designed” or maybe the very possible outcome that a design or a design solution can cause more harm then good or cause more disruptions for the systems directly surrounding our design “solution.” I have a confusing way of framing this but Arturo Escobar has a better way of explaining things. He says we need to unlearn the idea that problems are universal through methods of pluriverse design, being a framework that critiques:
“the idea that every challenge must be framed as a “problem” to be fixed. What appears problematic from a modern, external perspective may be an expression of a different logic, which might be in the real of the spiritual, ecological, or relational. Some conditions call for stewardship, not intervention. Unlearning this means resisting the impulse to define the situation and instead learning to witness, wait, and ask what care might look like. “
What I understand from this is to be conscious of what a problem truly is and how it can affect the environments around. Therefore I want the project outcome of this project to be something that can positively affect peoples lives at a long term scale.
“the idea that every challenge must be framed as a “problem” to be fixed. What appears problematic from a modern, external perspective may be an expression of a different logic, which might be in the real of the spiritual, ecological, or relational. Some conditions call for stewardship, not intervention. Unlearning this means resisting the impulse to define the situation and instead learning to witness, wait, and ask what care might look like. “
What I understand from this is to be conscious of what a problem truly is and how it can affect the environments around. Therefore I want the project outcome of this project to be something that can positively affect peoples lives at a long term scale.
*presentation and feedback
*exploring design through the Pluriverse
- after our feedback we wanted to incorporate more of Escobar’s themes. understanding that often times we have to zoom out and realize that not every problem needs a solution. This has opened our scope to better understand what we want to achieve and how.
* Participatory Design
this weekend I went to Basel, Switzerland to attend my father in laws birthday. every time that I come to Switzerland I am surrounded with design and this particular time I happen to stumble upon the perfect example of participatory design.
as we were in the city we stumbled upon kilometers and kilometers of fabric laid on the ground. as our curiosity grew we approached a poster that explained the occurrence. the city laid out several crates filled with cloths, each piece of fabric had velcro to attach. the essence of this was to encourage people to network, talk, and discuss how to shape the city for the future.
we arrived to the city around 17hr when the joint collection of the fabrics was taking place and the grills were turning on. to incentivize people for the collection of the hundreds of cloths, a public grill was set in place where the collection of cloths would land you a meal.
but.... how does my little vacay relate to class? how is this participatory design? let me break it down.
BIGNIK embodies participatory design because the artwork itself only exists through the active involvement of the public. instead of a designer producing a fixed, finished object, the project invites citizens to co-create the giant “growing picnic cloth” by using the space collectively. this transforms participants from passive spectators into co-designers of both the artifact and the social experience. in Sanders & Stappers’ terms, this shifts design from being for people to being created with people, where the process and participation are as valuable as the outcome (“Co-Creation and the New Landscapes of Design,” 2008).
moreover, BIGNIK aligns with Pelle Ehn’s (1988) perspective from Scandinavian participatory design traditions: design should be democratic and open-ended, giving communities the tools and spaces to shape their environments. the act of laying down cloths, eating together, and even discussing urban planning, makes design a platform for dialogue, community building, and shared authorship.
in essence, BIGNIK is participatory design because it dissolves the boundary between designer and user, the collective action IS the design. What’s being designed is not just a picnic cloth, but a shared cultural ritual and sense of belonging.
moreover, BIGNIK aligns with Pelle Ehn’s (1988) perspective from Scandinavian participatory design traditions: design should be democratic and open-ended, giving communities the tools and spaces to shape their environments. the act of laying down cloths, eating together, and even discussing urban planning, makes design a platform for dialogue, community building, and shared authorship.
in essence, BIGNIK is participatory design because it dissolves the boundary between designer and user, the collective action IS the design. What’s being designed is not just a picnic cloth, but a shared cultural ritual and sense of belonging.
*understanding the difference between a users attitude and behavior
- attitude: a persons mental tendency that is responsible for the way they think or feel for something/someone
-behavior: actions, moves, conduct, and functions of an individual
*the importance of designing from the inside:
- as designers we must enter the contexts we hope to influence
- within the context we can understand better the cultural dynamics
*qualitative and quantitive research
- qualitative: generate data about behaviors/ attitudes based on observing or hearing them directly
- quantitative: quantify about the behaviors + attitudes in question indirectly
*context is ALWAYS a system
*research in the context of final outcome
- the research to discover the problem needs to be designed as much as the final solution
* TO EFFECTIVELY DESIGN IS NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, BUT ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU SEE!!
*zooming in vs out (powers of ten)
* Powers of Ten
* we must understand what drives behavior, what they value, fear, + strive for”
-Don Norman
PROJECT ADVANCEMENTS
* REDIRECTIONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
* ok ok ok, so after talking and realizing the limits and constraints (and colonizer mentality we had) we decided to reconsider our path
- turning away from our idea we wanted to consider this idea of “traditional living”
- with a new vision to transform rural towns into sustainable hubs where modern digital innovation coexists with traditional culture and natural assets
*ruralthific
- The Ruralthific project by Pilar Saura serves as a strong precedent for our second concept, as it reimagines rural towns not as declining spaces but as territories of opportunity through strategic rebranding and infrastructure development. Like our proposal, it focuses on attracting newcomers, families, young people, and remote workers
- by combining authentic cultural identity with modern infrastructure such as digital connectivity, sustainable housing, and community hubs. Ruralthific validates our approach by showing how design and innovation can position rural living as a viable, future-oriented lifestyle, directly supporting the goals of SDG 9.
*case study/feedback analysis...
- Campo Adentro (Inland/CAR) is a cultural and territorial initiative in Spain that works to bridge the urban–rural divide by bringing people from cities into rural areas through art, agriculture, and community projects. It reimagines the countryside as a space of innovation and sustainability, encouraging newcomers to settle, collaborate with local farmers, and strengthen rural economies.
-shows how cultural identity, ecological practices, and modern infrastructure can make rural living attractive for families and young people seeking alternative lifestyles.
- España vacía (Sergio del Molino, 2016)
This landmark essay highlights the deep demographic and cultural crisis of Spain’s rural interior, where depopulation has left vast territories “empty” and marginalized from national life. It frames rural decline not just as an economic issue but as a question of identity, dignity, and visibility—underscoring the urgency of projects that restore vitality and meaning to small towns.
- Entrepatios
- Madrid’s first eco-housing cooperative under the cesión de uso model, where residents collectively own the building and pay affordable shares rather than buying or renting.
- Designed with sustainability and shared living in mind, it offers common spaces, renewable energy systems, and long-term affordability outside the speculative market. It demonstrates how community-driven infrastructure can attract families and young people seeking collaborative, eco-conscious lifestyles.... an approach that could be adapted to rural towns.
- looking into the “the switch”
- the switch people are beginning to have from city life to romanticizing rural living. (Nara Smith, Ballerina Farms)
- “la gentrification del pueblo”
CASE STUDIES:
*Ruralthific - Pillar Saura
*Campo Adentro (CAR)
*España Vacia (Sergio del Molino)
*Entrepatios (Vivienda CoOp)
*think of why you doodle during lectures”
last class the professors mentioned to think systemically about everything, even when it comes to the doodles we do when we get bored of the lectures (sorry)
when we were talking about humanity-centric design and the importance of designing for all I was drawing this little diagram on the left, a strange interconnecting set of homes and hubs for my little figures of people, drawing connect ability and accessibility without even realizing it.
how does this relate?
idk sometimes i draw just to draw but if I could zoom out and look at it as a reference you could say that the sketch could represent the vision of rural revitalization.
how each cube symbolizes a town or a community, some full, some nearly empty, and some that are falling apart. all connected through pathways that mirror infrastructure.
my little guys could reflect on the demographic reality of depopulation but also the potential for reconnection as new residents arrive. while my swirls could capture the constant circulation of people leaving, returning, or migrating.
the modularity and goofy little structure embodies our proposal for a replicable model, adaptable to different contexts, where towns can just “plug into” the network of shared flows of energy, people, and ideas.
7/10
FEED BACK SESSION
* Find a common ground between all generations
* deromanticizing the romanticization of the country side, community, indigenous, can be problematic
*how do we value and valorize the small town while also being critical
* (levi strauss) how always in process of ethnography and anthropology its important to also build the image of the “good savage”
*focusing on the identity and intention, there has been a lost of identity or a disconnect
* rethinking the idea of identity in something already there
*think about the current hunting culture in patones
PROJECT ADVANCEMENTS
9/10
WORK SESSION
*for this work session we had to find a framework and work through referencing case studies to guide our research process
*we chose to think of entrepatios and CAR,
- we want to create community, identity, and self sufficiency
- while our main intervention points would be through housing, transport, community, and digital connect ability
- after discussion we began organizing open ended questions for our interviews in the town
*(levi strauss) the savage mind
* institute for human activities
*marca comunidad : colombiano, branding solutions for communities, (REBRANDING PUEBLITOS))))))))
*casa B
- PATONES ROADDDDD TRIP
*we went to Patones and learned so much
*after interviewing locals including the oldest women in the town, we got many insights that could help our project direction.
* understanding better the needs of the people in the town and what they really need to better their town
*the locals spoke to us about the unspoken rivalry between the two towns, saying how patones de abajo has always had a jealousy towards patones de arriba, as it is more visited then patones de abajo.
*unfortunatley when it comes to autonomy and making decisions patones de arriba no tiene ni voz ni voto. everything they ask for is constantly denied by the governing town
*one local mentioned the time that they used reverse psychology on patones de abajo, they told patones de abajo that they did not want a paved street and kept saying no and no and no. Patones de abajo (to piss of arriba) decided to place the pavement. they were confused with the reaction of arriba when they were happy instead of upset over the change that they “didn’t want”
*many locals mentioned that there isn’t necessarily a problem with degrowth but a problem of infastructure, because of this rivalry there is lack of mantenimiento of existing spaces and also lack of community. They mentioned how when the weekend hits all the locals hide away in their homes to not run into tourists, although they have no problem they just perfer their own community.
*Enrique, a local we interviewed who grew up in the town, mentioned that the town used to be extremley united and everyone knew eachother, but now? that sense of community within the residents of patones de arriba has been lost.
sooooooooo what are our next steps?
*research within madrid and finding our intervention point.
*return to patones de arriba and also interview locals in patones de abajo, find the true root of jealousy.
* get both perspectives
*and just keep workin yayy........... :( (im tired)
*exploring what if questions and challening existing assumptions
*treating design as a boyfriend, not staying with an idea just because
- a design or an initial solution should not be treated as a set, rather to view it as something that can be changed or altered if it comes to it so in other words to treat designs as our boyfriends understanding that if something isn’t working, to drop it and start over.
*how frameworks help us plan possible futures
*1. What if infrastructure could regenerate rather than consume?
Instead of building over nature, what if we designed systems in Patones that restore landscapes while serving human needs like turning roads, water systems, and energy networks into ecological connectors?
What if Patones became a living lab for blending ancestral knowledge, traditional crafts, and new technologies to create sustainable local industries?
*3. What if rural infrastructures were designed for slowness and care, not speed and scale?
What if we reimagined “mobility” and “logistics” in small towns as opportunities for community connection and ecological balance rather than just efficiency?
*4. What if degrowth was seen as progress?
What if decentralizing growth from Madrid — and strengthening smaller towns around it — became a new model of innovation and resilience?
*5. What if Patones could prototype a new kind of circular, place-based economy?
What if local materials, skills, and infrastructures were reorganized to serve both people and planet, creating a regenerative loop between production, use, and reuse?
*we started by splitting up our what if questions and digging deeper
*the what if question i tried to imagine a possible scenario for was, “what if innovation came from reactivating the past?
* i started by researching looking for similar case studies and references who have applied this model, trying to see what I can take away and learn from different projects.
*takeaways
* patones could become a laboratory where traditional aspects could become its new driver
* patones is rich in black slate architecture, an aspect of the town that the general public is prideful of and its beauty.
* what if this architecture could become a foundation for a sustainable local driver for the town?
*imagining workshops and labs that are integrated into the towns, in old run down buildings, that are forgotten.
*artisans, architects, designers and locals could come together to collaborate in reviving traditional techniques,
* experimenting with modern materials, and developing more circular construction methods that could be applied to allow the town to work more autonomously, to develop their own system and to allow them to decide and develop their own infrastructure.
*tourism could transform to where visitors become active participants instead of consuming passively.
*not replacing the past but bridging its surrounds, old and new, and creating self sustaining industries and systems rooted in memory and tradition
The Bamboo Craft Village:
* revitalized a town using local material in its surrounds and incorporating modern
“When rural industrial factories are equipped to integrate advanced fabrication techniques, ... it will pave the way for meaningful industrial advancements in the near future.”
Rural Innovation List
* LIVELUR
*deploy living labs business models in real rural regions
* not only about innovation but about sustainable local economies
*potential blueprint