Alice Rawsthorn is one of the world's leading design and culture commentators. Through a series of unsuspecting examples – from Blackbeard to Florence Nightingale – her talk highlighted how design is the most powerful medium of communication. She described it as an "agent of change" in light of the recent refugee, economic and environmental crises.A
Responding to the age of instability, she looked at society through the prism of design, documenting the individuals and movements that have shaped the way we live our lives. “Design needs a social compact,” she said, “it always needs permission to act.”
Ultimately, what she outlined is how society can redefine the definition of a designer. As a result of that shift, more people can innovate in a world that previously was traditionally dominated by a small percentage of society. “It stands to reason that we need designers from all backgrounds,” she said.
She peppered her talk with evidence-based references on a global scale, demonstrating her knowledge of an industry with the opportunity to shape healthcare, politics and education, to name but a few. From female-driven tech start-ups in Pakistan that improve healthcare for women to self-funded environmental projects endeavouring to clean the oceans of poisonous plastics, Rawsthorn is a walking design encyclopaedia. She explored how, for Florence Nightingale, design was a medium of communicating statistics, using pioneering pie-charts to influence British government medical investments. In the case of Blackbeard, design was a way of self-branding, using his distinctive image to conjure fear in his rivals.
Looking to the future, “Collaboration is absolutely key,” she said, championing functional, ethical and diverse design from all four corners of the earth. “I hope we’re not at our peak because I want the future to become better and better and better.”
If you missed this event, you might like event number 218, China: A History of Objects, at 10am on Wednesday, May 30th.