Complexity and community - the relevance of the design community for responsible design implementation by consultant industrial designers

Today, a growing recognition of the profound topics affecting society calls for designers to address additional goals beyond those associated with profit making. But the real opportunity for industrial designers to affect positive change is determined by a myriad of elements, seldom regarded or accurately accounted for in the debates and rhetoric surrounding these topics.This paper will present findings from an explorative study carried out in the UK and Ireland as part of a doctoral research project. Derived from analysis of interviews and workshops with consultants, industrial design firms and academics, we will describe the complex system of factors affecting the possibility for designers to address sustainable and responsible design goals within commercial practice. From this, the industrial design community’s influence on the factors identified is discussed, concluding with an assessment of the community relevance for the implementation of responsible design by industrial design consultancies.