How might wetlands inspire our ideation process? How might crustaceans transform how we make prototypes? How might amoeba shape the future of AI?

Throughout history, our progress has been marked by our detachment from nature, driven by innovations that lodge themselves into natural ecosystems. As we acknowledge nature's 3.8 billion-year survival-of-the-fittest design evolution, it may be time for industrial design's 100ish years of design history to catch up.

This session explores the convergence of human-centric and nature-centric design. Nature-centrism challenges traditional views of design and calls for decentralizing anthropomorphism. It envisions a future where humans and more-than-humans co-create, reintegrating essential ecological thinking into human designs. This design paradigm urges designers to consider more-than-human clients to shift from sustainability to regeneration. It is through blurring the lines between human ingenuity and natural systems that we can equip ourselves to confront the challenges of climate poly-crisis.

The audience will learn:

1. Why is the nature-centric design process essential, and when should it be implemented?

2. What is the nature-centric design process?

3. Do designers need to be trained as scientists to tackle climate change?

4. Where and how might nature-centric design exist?

5. Future and economic implications of nature-based design.