‘…How do we re-do our design education, our design practice, and our design research so that our knowledge comes to have an actual effect on how we live, from the micro level of the domestic to the macro level of politics? How do we train our students to become do-ers and to confront the challenges that face the world in terms of social inclusion, climate/environment, and economic growth? How do we impact our disciplines and beyond?…’ (Cumulus 2017)
The ReDo biannual Cumulus 2017 conference in Kolding aimed to playfully inspire, challenge and develop the role, relevance and scope of design, art and media in a global world with sustainability for people, planet and profit in mind. The overall aim of the conference was to create lasting impact in design and design education and initiate (future) actions. Senior Lecturers Dion Star & Andy Neal were both invited to deliver their paper ‘Rethinking Graphic Design Process’ as part of the conference, and benefitted from four days of challenging discussion with a wide mix of contributors from all over the world.
Highlights included Bo Stjerne Thomsen (Head of the Centre for Creativity, Play and Learning at the LEGO foundation), who talked about the importance of play as a trans-disciplinary activity, and the pressing need for us to communicate creativity’s value to society (so more people will create). Christian Bason (CEO at the Danish Design Council) reflected on design’s capacity to challenge existing power structures if we fully embrace institutional/societal change. Mathilda Tham (Professor of Design, Linnaeus, Sweden) highlighted design’s responsibility to both meet the needs of the current generation, without jeopardising the needs (and rights) of future generations, and Margrethe Vestager (European Commissioner for Competition) talked about design as a mechanism for putting people first, and as a facilitator in empowering people to become involved in the processes that are changing our lives. 
There were over 300 delegates in attendance, from over 40 countries, delivering over 60 papers, plus keynotes, films and posters, all with the focus on three key questions;
What do we wish to ReDo?
How and with whom do we ReDo?
How do we teach students to ReDo?
Full papers from the conference are available online, and are worth looking through if you have an interest in design and/or design education.
http://cumuluskolding2017.org/proceedings/
http://cumuluskolding2017.org/
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