Promotion lecture - Helena Strömberg, Design & Human Factors IMS

Helena Strömberg studies the role that design of products and services can play for creating the preconditions for sustainable everyday activities. She applies user-centred design methodology to explore which new demands emerge when products and services should enable new sustainable ways of solving people's everyday needs, function as a part of sharing schemes or product service systems, or support more resource efficient interaction patterns. The goal is to find ways of facilitating adoption of sustainable innovations and activities. The central application area is sustainable mobility. Helena is also the Director of Chalmers Master's programme in Industrial Design Engineering.

Title of the lecture: Designing for a Seemingly Uncomfortable Future

Abstract:
Climate change and current global situation require changes in behaviour and finding alternative ways of living that demand fewer resources and less energy. However, many perceive such alternative ways as undesirable, inconvenient, or even as a step backward in development.
How can design, as a discipline and a research method, help shape future sustainable ways of living—so that they feel like a good life rather than an uncomfortable future? In this lecture, Helena Strömberg summarizes her design-driven research on sustainable everyday life. The presentation includes examples of different ways we can experience alternative futures, question which values we prioritize, and explore how we can collectively create the sustainable future we desire.