About
PhD project: Design Thinking, Theory U and Lusophony: integral vision for values and paradigms shift
Reference: 2020.05058.BD
Proponent institution: Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto (FBAUP)
Host institutions: ID+ Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture (University of Porto), Department of Communication and Art (DECA) (University of Aveiro), Institute of Sociology of the University of Porto (IS-UP)
Supervision: Teresa Franqueira (DeCA); Co-supervisors: Heitor Alvelos (FBAUP), Cristina Parente (IS-UP)
Timeline: December 2020- December 2023
Abstract: This research aims to overcome the existing theoretical gap in the articulation between design management, Lusophony and spirituality. The main goal is to test and assess an integral design management approach through ethnographic work carried out with lusophone groups and communities that present implicit spirituality-driven design management approaches. The empirical subject of the study consists of the Quilombola groups and communities of Afro-Brazilian origin and of traditional family farming in Brazil and Portugal.
We propose to contribute to an integral vision of knowledge in design management, i.e. a multidimensional approach that encompasses the spirituality of each individual and group and collaborative, collective, social aspects, in particular proximity, affinity and empathy.
This approach aims to think of design as a facilitator of transformative systems, which present a rupture with individualistic and competitive values, aiming to recover ancestral values and substantive way of life. It is in this sense that we work on the decolonisation of design from the neo-liberal model of economy and life.
The aim is to implement an accessible approach that can be applied in academic, corporate, governmental, non-governmental and civil society environments, at national and international level.
Keywords: Integral Design management, Design and Spirituality, Lusophony, Decolonisation of Design and of Methodologies, Design for Transitions, Design for Transformative Social Innovation.
End beneficiaries/target population: Academia, companies, governments, non-governmental organisations and civil society: national and international.
