Transition design vs other design frameworks, strengths and limitations.
_____________________________________________________________________
‍
Presented above is my visual interpretation of transition design in the big picture. With the double diamond framework, we journey through 4 phases: discover, define, develop and deliver. The process is non-linear, and we travel back and forth through the phases, iterating to user feedback and the ever-changing world (Design Council, 2019). Similarly, transition design uses four co-evolving bodies of knowledge to inform and iterate designs, but also acknowledges each problem as a component of the interconnected network of problems. Each of the circles represents a design problem, encapsulating the circular design process. Zooming out, we see the complexity of transition design - it is composed of several solutions of different scales, over different time frames, all of which fit together in the big picture goal.


Speculation design is mostly theoretical; using visioning to tug on tensions and reveal diverse perspectives. It gives us a critical outlook for how we should shape our future and paves the way for transition visioning - but with limited real investment. This is where transition design comes in - offering a greater sense of practicality and initiative towards systematic change. Transition design aims to shift our world forward through strategically planning solutions and investing real resources into construction.


Advantages and disadvantages
______________________________
What transition does exceptionally well is using foresight to look at the big picture transition- framing its designs over short and long stretches of time, as well as using the concept of locality to shape its approaches to different social landscapes. It gives us a lens to see the world with a very holistic view (Iwabuchi, 2021). Its four co-evolving bodies of knowledge continuously strengthen and advance our design strategies.

However, we see that transition design is so driven towards providing pragmatic solutions that it may put less regard to critical theory (Tokenwise, 2019). Looking through its’ design framework, there seemed to be less community input. What is extremely important to modern design principles (Speculative, Pluriverse and Decolonising design..) is understanding our social and cultural contexts, through seeking feedback from the people. However,  this component is not explicitly highlighted in Transition design principles, as it has a greater interface with science rather than communal perspectives. For transition design to be optimised, this gap must be bridged by active learning from other areas of design.
‍

How did it better achieve its goal?
_______________________________
‍
The 7m high tower cleans 30,000 m3 of air per hour, uses low electricity and runs on green energy. While cleaning the air, it also provides a refreshing and inspiring sensory experience. The Smog-Free Tower experiment, unfortunately, had not met its 'desired' cleaning results in the bustling city of Beijing in 2016, due to its small size (Patranobis, 2019) . It was tested on a larger scale in 2016 when skyscraper-sized smog towers were built in Xi'an, but this was again reported to be impractical for larger cities such as Beijing, when compared to other methods.

Although its effectiveness was questioned, we can acknowledge that this is part of the circular transition design framework - new knowledge about what works well and what doesn't can inform designers about their future decisions revolving around pollution control. From a practical lens, we may think that the Smog Free Towers was merely an inspirational prop. However, I believe that it has achieved its goal by opening a window for clean-tech architecture. This can inspire experts to further develop its technology to increase its efficiency and reiterate it into more effective forms.


Why was this a more successful example of transition design compared to the other cases provided?
______________
‍
I chose the Smog Free Tower since it directly targets the crucial issue of pollution (a major contributor to global warming) that must be managed for any advanced future to exist. On another note - after reflecting back on the case studies, I would have chosen the virgin hyperloop instead as the most successful transition design. Both cases aim to tackle climate control, but the hyperloop has more systematic implications. It would evolve our cities to become smarter, while simultaneously tackling various issues which stem from transport, including traffic, safety and high carbon emissions (Bauer, 2019). The smog free project provides quite a simple solution, however much acts as a layer on top of current city systems.

.