Episode #1: Design in an identity crisis

Designers write. A podcast about the role of designers in the climate crisis and all the other worldwide disasters we face. Moderator Aynouk Tan questions designers about their profession on the basis of short essays they have written themselves. Participants in the first episode are the designers Klara Debeljak and Silvio Lorusso.

Klara Debeljak

Klara Debeljak is an Amsterdam-based researcher, artist and designer. She has a BA in Psychology from Charles University in Prague, where her focus was on the various effects of digitalization on society and the morphing concept of community. These topics continue to constitute the core of her work, in particular intimacy and identity in the digital sphere and the role of a citizen. Currently, she is in the Gerrit Rietveld Academie studying Graphic Design. She has had exhibitions in Ljubljana, Prague, Amsterdam and Morocco. Klara Debeljak's essay, "Theory of the Chrono-Ghettos", is a first-person wake-up call from Time itself and reflects on how time and capitalist structures are intertwined. Further reflection on the essay is given by one of our text curators, Florian Cramer.

Silvio Lorusso

Silvio Lorusso is a writer, artist and designer based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 2018 he published his first book entitled "Entreprecariat". He is an assistant professor and vice-director of the Centre for Other Worlds at the Lusófona University in Lisbon. Lorusso holds a Ph.D. in Design Sciences from the Iuav University of Venice. Silvio Lorusso's essay, "Against design synthesis", asks the question: are designers universal problem solvers crucial in dealing with the global crises we face? The text is analysed by our text curator Marjanne van Helvert.

And head curator Joeri Pruys reads a text from the book “Dingen Vormen Mensen” (1972) by design critic Simon Mari Pruys, a seminal work by one of the Netherlands’ most influential design critics.

Useful links:

• Essay “Theory of the Chrono-Ghettos” by Klara Debeljak: https://designerswrite.org/essays/theory-of-the-chrono-ghettos/ 
• Essay “Against design synthesis” by Silvio Lorusso: https://designerswrite.org/essays/against-design-synthesis/ 
• Historical text: “Dingen vormen mensen” (1972, excerpt) by Simon Mari Pruys: https://designerswrite.org/historical-text/dingen-vormen-mensen-excerpt/
• Klara Debeljak’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klara.deb/
• Silvio Lorusso’s website: https://silviolorusso.com 
• More about Simon Mari Pruys (Dutch): https://www.designhistory.nl/2009/eigenzinnig-en-controversieel-de-criticus-simon-mari-pruys-deel-1/ 
• More about Victor Papanek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Papanek 
• Moderator Aynouk Tan's website: https://aynouktan.com 
• Text curator Florian Cramer’s website: http://floriancramer.nl 
• Text curator Marjanne van Helvert’s website: https://www.dirty-design.net