Funeral Design: Design as a Tool for Use on the Public Imagination Cover Image

Projektowanie pogrzebu. Dizajn jako narzędzie pracy nad wyobraźnią społeczną
Funeral Design: Design as a Tool for Use on the Public Imagination

Author(s): Kuba Mazurkiewicz
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Sociology, Sociology of Culture
Published by: Wydział Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: speculative design; funerals; social imagination; everyday practices; social change

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with funerals as an object of design interest. For funerals, design is used in a traditional way, as a market tool to aestheticise and improve the functionality of products, with the expectation of increased profits. Using self-analysis, the author-designer presents an alternative approach. He discusses the process of designing funerals of the future, for which he uses the speculative design method. The main goal of the article is to answer the question of whether – since this type of project by definition remains in the realm of imagination – we can use the term “implementation” in its regard. The author notes that design is not sufficient to change social practices. What is needed is a social movement that can generate the critical mass necessary to change thinking and, in the next step, the law. The implementation of a speculative design project may involve its use by social organisations as an educational tool to stimulate and expand imagination.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 23
  • Page Range: 243-274
  • Page Count: 32
  • Language: Polish
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