Designing between the possible and the impossible
Channel: Usabilidoido
Date: 2023-10-21

The possible is relatively constituted to what is meant to be impossible. Whenever someone does something formerly known to be impossible, the possible expands, and a new frontier appears. Expanding this box is not trivial, though. Contradictions binding the dos and don'ts demotivate any naïve attempt to design at the border. Expansive design is this practice identified by Dr. Van Amstel in his Ph.D. thesis of incorporating contradictions in design and harnessing their potential. In it, the people who live at the border gather to represent, understand, and change these contradictions, releasing their tension until the impossible becomes possible. The thesis work found ample evidence that games can support this expansive representation process. Subsequent design research has shown that theater, handmade models, data visualization, and movies can also do that. This lecture presents selected examples of expansive design projects studied in the Netherlands, UK, and Brazil. The lecture concludes with the prospect of doing expansive design in the US.

Visiting Designer Talk in the Graphic Design/Design & Visual Communications Speaker Series, School of Art + Art History, University of Florida.

Podcast and reference list
https://fredvanamstel.com/talks/designing-between-the-possible-and-the-impossible