Designing What’s to Come

Seven experiences on Social Design

How might we communicate the whole experience of a social and participatory project in a sustainable way?

Designing ‘Lo Por Venir’ (“What’s To Come”) is a design for social innovation project. It is a project where art therapy and co-design with different groups, from a perspective of social inclusion and sustainability, open a hopeful future. They open paths to what is yet to come.

Throughout the project, during 2021 and 2022, participatory design workshops have been developed with seven different groups. For all of them, a process has been proposed that begins with the cohesion of the group and the situation in their context. This is followed by experimentation that opens up new avenues of design. Finally, the results appear in the form of various products and graphics.

In a project like this, it is essential to highlight the process, not just the results. Therefore, the exhibition that would serve as a communication tool for the entire project had to take this into account.

On the other hand, a social and environmental impact as positive as that of the ‘Lo Por Venir’ project had to be properly reflected in the way it was communicated.

How might we get the whole essence of the project, and not just the final products, to the general public?

A sustainable exhibition in hybrid format: physical and digital

First of all, we have designed the exhibition in such a way that it facilitates the journey through the whole experience of Designing ‘Lo Por Venir’. Thus, we not only show the final products. We use audiovisuals in which the beneficiaries of the project themselves participate, prototypes and models that were part of the process, and photographs, texts and diagrams that facilitate the understanding of the experience.

On the other hand, the graphic identity of the exhibition is based on the idea of the “to come” as something diffuse, yet to be explored, which becomes clearer as we approach it. Serving as a simile of any design process, but especially of a participatory process, the letters “Lo Por Venir” are subtly appearing more and more clearly.

Analyzing the impacts of the exhibition experience

The creative process of the exhibition has paid special attention to identifying what impacts could be generated in it. The typical elements of an exhibition have been analyzed, such as photographs, tables and stands, and vinyls with text. We have tried to minimize the negative impacts through various strategies:

  • Use of reused and reusable materials, for example, tables and stands.
  • Sustainable digitalization of part of the exhibition, minimizing the amount of printed vinyl. More information about the exhibition is available in digital format, through a QR at the entrance. In addition, this digital information was available for a while when the physical exhibition ended. The website itself, where this information could be expanded, was designed with sustainability criteria.
  • Use of vinyls with lower environmental impacts than traditional ones.
  • Minimization of the use of materials, creating a strong communicative concept with the least amount of materials and inks possible.

Seven experiences of Social Design

For the design of the exhibition we followed the approach of ‘doing more with less’, something that has been present throughout the ‘Lo Por Venir’ project. We have placed value not only on the results, but also on the processes. Through the prototypes made during the process, the audiovisuals, photos and texts, viewers can understand what the process has been like. And what impact it has had on the participants, beyond the products made. 

The exhibition was open at the Colegio Mayor Rector Peset from November 9 until December 11, 2022.