mend.IT - A mending toolkit promoting sustainable clothing choices. Project selected for the exhibition organized by the social design network

The global events triggered by the current COVID-19 pandemic keep influencing us all, in all daily venues, for almost two years. As economic shifts influence our consumer behaviour and the ways we interact with each other, it is but natural that design as a discipline will change as well. Design education worldwide has also adapted to the new normal of the global pandemic while redefining its values and priorities. As economy, politics, social constructs and culture change in erratic ways, some theoreticians and practitioners agree that we need socially sensitive, human-centered solutions more than ever, focusing on real, tangible answers and social equity. Not only do we need to redefine the role of design as a discipline, we need to reconsider our species’ impacts on Earth and the way we communicate with others, be it human and non-human, as well as truly understand our place in this reality.

The Social Design Network’s new initiative, the ‘Social Futures’ exhibition presented selected projects and concepts developed by the institutions of the founding partners of the Social Design Network (UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Italy, Spain and Israel). This international selection of works featured projects that respond to wider social issues, but are also applicable for life during and after a global pandemic. As is the temporal nature of design, we work in the present, aim for the future and reflect on the past. The final selection of projects was arranged into four sections, which represent the Social Design Network’s core values as well:

_DIGITAL REALITIES
_POWER OF COMMUNITY
_SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT
_HUMAN CONNECTION