Sustainable Experience Design Lab launches for 2025 program

The “Sustainable Experience Design Lab” has been launched to explore how experience design can transform individual lifestyles and behaviours to create a sustainable and regenerative society. Led by Harch Inc. and the Ecological Memes Association, the lab is recruiting program members to dive into the interplay between experience design and societal change. Drawing from ideas like regeneration, post-humanism, climate justice, decolonisation, multispecies care, structural socioeconomic equality, and pluralism, the lab takes a citizen-centric, embodied approach to its explorations.

The lab recognises that industrial adaptation alone is insufficient for sustainable change; it highlights the critical role of UX and experience design in driving behavioural transformation. Moving beyond rigid provider-consumer dynamics, the lab fosters comprehensive transitions that reshape lifestyles and mindsets. By collaborating with participants from diverse sectors, the lab aims to reimagine the potential of experience design to inspire new values and sustainable actions.

The lab’s work is guided by three principles: Inspiration Dynamics, which uses foundational questions in exploratory areas to spark new ideas and collaboration; Exploration Process, which integrates personal and collective perspectives through a balance of intellectual and embodied understanding; and Design Attitudes, which fosters a shared mindset aligned with sustainable design principles.

Spanning seven months (March to September 2025), the lab’s program will include lectures from experts in design research, anthropology, and other fields. These sessions establish methodological and thematic foundations, providing inspiration through perspectives on multiplicity, embodiment, commons, and narratives. Participants will identify areas of personal interest, form collaborative teams, and engage in research, fieldwork, and prototyping. The program concludes with an exhibition showcasing the outcomes of these explorations.

The program emphasises exploration driven by personal curiosity, where participants integrate subjective interests with methods like ethnography and interviews to foster transformation. It highlights citizen-centred design by focusing on grassroots changes that promote long-term engagement, connections with non-human entities, and respect for cultural values. Additionally, it restores embodiment through direct engagement with physical environments, deepening understanding and aligning with concepts like regeneration and climate justice.

Applications for the program are open until February 8, with a limit of 20 participants. The program offers a distinctive opportunity to explore how experience design can drive sustainable transformation and cultivate new ways of living.