Design Council

In celebration of International Women’s Day, The Design Council highlight the work of women leading the fast-evolving field of biodesign.

Extract:

“Typically referred to as biodesign, this multidisciplinary sector has hovered at the intersection of design, science and technology for decades. Scratch beneath the surface of science fiction-like ecological solutions and the staggering proportion of incredible women who are leading the field is striking…

The last few years have seen biodesign accelerate into the mainstream, as ecological awareness grows and global brands like Adidas and Louis Vuitton harness its power…

When the Design Council’s Design Economy results came in last summer, we were shocked to see that only 23% of designers identify as female — a stat that hasn’t changed in the last decade. This is even worse in certain disciplines with 81% in architecture respondents identifying as male, 85% in digital and 88% in product design.

So what’s different about biodesign? Although no formal demographic stats exist for this sector of design (yet), it is undeniably a female-led space…

It’s not just designers who can learn from biodesign’s willingness to avoid silos. The sustainability sector is held back by the same issue. Melissa Sterry, transdisciplinary design scientist and founder of Bioratorium, says, “There is a focus on reducing carbon emissions, at the expense of wider issues. Biodesign is about looking at the natural world and seeing the whole system. In this way you find genuinely ‘new to human’ ideas.”

Read more here.