DesignWISE: Create to Regenerate

DesignWISE introduces a 360-degree, regenerative approach to design development. Bringing together designers, thinkers and changemakers and moving beyond linear processes, combining design thinking, systemic leadership, and earth-based wisdom traditions to foster reflection, intentional action and a deeper, more sustainable way of shaping change. DesignWISE is an invitation to rethink the role of design in a time of profound change for humanity. We need to shift our perspective from people to planet; understand that we have to stop viewing the world primarily from a human vantage point but in connection and accordance with nature.We need to engage on equal terms with the planet and the many species and life forms that we share it with, rather than continuing to place human concerns at the centre of production and development. This is far more radical than it may sound. It requires us to be able to stay with the trouble, understand and explain the new conditions and develop visions of a sustainable society worth dreaming of. This expanded understanding can be described as ‘radical planetary empathy’. It is radical because it shifts the centre. The well-being of the planet is not a mere framework condition but a stakeholder in relation to design decisions and sustainability. It represents a fundamental shift in perspective that turns our gaze away from human needs alone and makes the well-being of Earth our primary concern. Ida Engholm is Professor of Design History and Theory at the Royal Danish Academy and author of several books, including the influential Design for the New World: From Human Design to Planet Design (Intellect Books, 2023). Lotte Borg is an architect, design facilitator, and Senior Consultant at South Denmark Health Innovation. Brian Frandsen is a strategic designer, design facilitator, and external lecturer at the Royal Danish Academy. Christina Funder is Teaching Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Academy. Henriette Melchiorsen is Teaching Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Academy. DesignWISE is grounded in a critique of the linear brief-to-solution thinking that is widespread in design practice, namely the assumption that there is a straight path from brief to solution. The book's argument is that this thinking can stand in the way of deeper, regenerative change, because it rarely leaves room to understand the broader consequences of our choices and the complex systemic relations they are part of. This book introduces DesignWISE as a holistic alternative - a circular decision-making tool grounded in design thinking, systemic leadership, and indigenous wisdom traditions. Rather than moving linearly from step to step, DesignWISE invites designers, leaders, and teams into a cycle of reflection, evaluation, and renewal. Its underlying premise is that meaningful change begins from within, in the coupling between inner intention and outer action. By cultivating presence and curiosity, we can unlock new sources of insight and move beyond conventional design approaches. DesignWISE is both theory and method. It offers thinking models and conceptual frameworks for practicing planetary design thinking, as well as concrete tools for translating them into design decisions, whether working alone or in teams. DesignWISE is for anyone seeking to design with greater wisdom, depth, and a heightened awareness of the planetary relations we are part of. For every design decision is, ultimately, a decision about the planet's future.