User Life centred design
For decades, human-centred design has been the driving force behind innovation. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that placing the user at the centre of the design process may be doing more harm than good for our global systems and collective wellbeing.
In this talk, we'll explore a new approach – life-centred design – that encourages a balanced consideration of human, environmental, and ethical perspectives. Diving into the role of systems thinking and futuring, the talk will demonstrate how life-centred design can help organisations reduce their planetary impact and create responsible innovation in an increasingly complex world.
Martin Tomitsch and Steve Baty
Martin Tomitsch
Professor Martin Tomitsch is a design academic with 20 years of experience in teaching design, facilitating workshops, and conducting design research at universities in Vienna, Paris, Beijing, and Sydney. He is a Professor and Head of the Transdisciplinary (TD) School at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The TD School operates at the intersection of creativity and innovation and offers transdisciplinary programs, including the award-winning Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation and postgraduate programs in Data Science & Innovation and Creative Intelligence & Strategic Innovation.
Martin is founder of several non-profit organisations, including the Austrian Network for Information and Communication Technologies for Development, the global Media Architecture Institute, and the Life-Centred Design Collective.\n\nMartin’s recent books include Designing Tomorrow – Strategic Design Tactics to Change Your Practice, Your Organisation & Your Planetary Impact and Design Think Make Break Repeat which is a handbook of design methods, now available as a revised edition after having sold over 13,000 copies.
Steve Baty
Steve was the inaugural CEO of the Australian Design Council, co-founder of Meld Studios and co-founder of UX Australia. He is a Director of the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence and served two years as the President of the Interaction Design Association.
Steve will be delivering a studio course to Masters of Architecture students at the University of Western Sydney in 2025, focusing on the integration between strategic design and traditional architectural practice. His practice is centred on improving our public spaces, infrastructure and services.