I recall a quote from John Thackara that pointedly articulates one of contemporary design's biggest opportunities (and challenges). He said, in essence: "Whatever you decide to do, don't do it alone.... We're all designers now." The idea of collaboration is nothing new, but truly productive collaborative design for sustainability's sake is easier said than done. British designer and thinker Alastair Fuad-Luke believes "co-designing," designing together, makes good sense not just for design's sake, but as a generative process with the potential to improve markets, economies, societies, and our environments. Fuad-Luke is the author of multiple books on the subject of sustainable design and design activism, and leads workshops on co-designing to teach a process in which each participant is both teacher and student.

As a design framework, co-design "means designing together," says Fuad-Luke, relying on multiple stakeholders and Life Cycle Thinking. A 3-part loop diagram shows the continuity between Experiencing, Problematizing, and Solutioning in a non-linear design process that requires each co-designer to participate at every level. Experiencing, for example, requires that co-designers work as anthropologists, observing how design is experienced, what the human factors surrounding design can inform, etc. The process is cyclical, rather than a 3-step process, based up on collective intelligence, and giving a voice to each stakeholder.

I personally see the value in a co-designing approach, as it re-emphasizes the social element of design, reminding us that sustainable design is not just about what something is made from, but how social factors informed a real solution, and how social impact can be a tangible result of great design. Fuad-Luke's process also asks us as designers to question who designers are in the first place: are our clients co-designers? (yes!) Are our end users and investors co-designers? (yes!) A co-design approach means changing the roster of who gets to sit at the conference table from day one.

Fuad-Luke believes co-design is the future of sustainable design, the most direct, productive, and effective process for truly sustainable systems and results. Find more details about the workshops and publications through is website.

Fuad-Luke releases his newest book, Design Activism: Beautiful Strangeness for a Sustainable World, this month.