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Design for Sustainability has evolved rapidly over the last decades as a response to unprecedented global challenges. Several models have been developed to address the need to design more sustainable products, services, and policies. These strategies are oriented towards more sustainable ways of living. The Compass, developed by the Index Project in Denmark, is a method that offers a framework to structure the design process while considering social, environmental, and economic sustainability aspects. This article presents an exploratory case study to infuse sustainability in design education using this method in interdisciplinary teams. The context is a master’s degree offered by a design school in a Chilean university. The study's outcomes reveal that The Compass method is a dynamic and flexible structure for design in interdisciplinary teams. To strengthen its applicability, it could incorporate links to sustainability methods from various areas of knowledge that specifically address economic, environmental, or social aspects. Complementing The Compass with these sustainable approaches to confront the complexity of the challenges may facilitate the move from good ideas to feasible, sustainable design solutions in design and other fields.

This paper addresses one of the challenges presented in the call for the October 2022 symposium prior to this special issue: How would we expect design literacy (knowledge) to be demonstrated by non-designers? The study focuses on Norwegian pupils aged 15–16 years who were tasked with designing shared-living spaces for an ecovillage, aiming to encourage mixed use, inclusive social interaction, and a reduction in the carbon footprint. The study explores the level of critical design literacy demonstrated in 55 digital submissions from the pupils. The results indicate that the pupils are more proficient in expressing and discussing aspects of social sustainability than they are at addressing environmental sustainability. The paper concludes by discussing how teachers might structure projects to encourage pupils to engage more deeply in transformative design practices.

The starting point of this study is the prehistoric “teganoschemo” archaeological find of the Syros-Keros civilization in the Aegean Sea. These artifacts have been causing debates among archaeologists as their raison d'être is still contested. The aim of this study is to bring a prehistoric ontological model of design and craft to contemporary design practices. In order to explore such alternative ontologies, we turn to the past and address themes of death and life embodied in these prehistoric artifacts. As we leave Modernity behind and transition towards Sustainment, a new ontology for Design is necessary. By understanding the ontological framework of prehistoric designers, we aim to create propositional artifacts that exemplify what design can be. The propositional artifacts created act as different phases in a research-through design process that aims to investigate how design operates within an alternative system of values.

This paper argues that Product-Service System Design for Sustainability applied to Distributed Renewable Energy DRE) is a promising approach to help achieve the goal of “Sustainable energy for all” (United Nation). Firstly, two understandings are presented: 1) Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) is a key leverage for sustainable development and; 2) Product-Service System (PSS) is a promising model for sustainable development. Based on those understandings two consequent research hypotheses are presented: 1) S.PSS is a promising model for DRE and is particularly relevant for the distributed and informal economies in low-middle income (all) contexts; 2) (Product-Service) System Design for Sustainable energy for all is a new challenging role for design. The recently awarded LeNSes (Learning Network on Sustainable energy system) EU project (bi-regional with Africa) is based on these hypotheses and it is introduced in terms of its aims and expected results, i.e. to deepen and diffuse the knowledge-base and know-how of system design for sustainable energy for all. Finally, two best practices of DRE-based S.PSS are described, one is the recently awarded (2014 International Ashden) project ‘M-POWER Off-grid electric services in Arusha, Tanzania’ and the second is the pilot implementation of the ‘Sunride sustainable mobility system in Cape Town’.

More than 44,000 Norwegian citizens live in nursing homes. Many health problems are related to malnutrition and under-nourishment. Registered nurses are responsible for the care quality in nursing homes. Due to limitations with respect to workforce and budget, it is of importance that staff discovers new mealtime solutions. In the field of industrial design, the profession is continuously proliferating in specialized directions concerning both design tasks to solve, design approaches, as well as the span of technological and human-oriented means as part of solutions. The aim has been to explore how to improve the quality of mealtime in nursing homes. We have included: 1) observations 2) dialogue meetings and 3) workshops. The final result of the study is seen as two-fold: the value platform and five design concept ideas. Within the field of clinical nursing research, the hunt for new solutions is a challenge. In this work, crossing disciplinary frontiers is of great importance. In the present study, we have tried to implement this approach and experience. Through rethinking values, we have discovered innovative solutions and strategies that might have been difficult to discover within a traditional, single disciplinary method.