Design and Culture: Interweaving, Inspiration, and Impact

From 21 to 23 November 2024, the international conference on integrated design titled Design and Culture: Interweaving, Inspiration, and Impact took place at the University of Moratuwa in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Prof. Dr Petra Černe Oven participated in the event as an invited keynote speaker.

The conference explored the profound and dynamic connections between design and culture, highlighting how cultural contexts shape design practices and how design, in turn, influences cultural development. Its central aim was to investigate the intersections where culture and design meet and to showcase the inspiration arising from this interplay. Discussions demonstrated the significant role design plays in shaping cultural identities and transformations, while culture was shown to drive innovation within design. The conference covered a broad range of thematic areas, including: Society and Culture, Circularity and Sustainability, Design Pedagogy and Design Thinking, Design and Technologies, Economy and Industry, and Vernacular Knowledge and Practice.

Prof. Dr Petra Černe Oven’s keynote lecture, entitled What to do? How design can contribute to a more sustainable society. Thoughts on shifting the paradigm from fear and powerlessness to positive change, focused on theoretical reflections on design research and its relevance to contemporary challenges, where design has the potential to make a meaningful contribution. She emphasised the crucial role of academic research in design and presented current activities in this field at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, University of Ljubljana (UL ALUO), and beyond. At the core of her lecture were theoretical and methodological approaches to contemporary design topics such as sustainability (with particular attention to social sustainability), visual literacy, the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in research, and innovative, effective pedagogical approaches centred on developing empathy.
A key message to conference participants addressed the need to decolonise design. Prof. Dr Černe Oven stressed that the most suitable solutions for specific cultures—particularly in the Global South, where societies have long been affected by colonialism—can only be developed by members of those very cultures. They possess a deep understanding of their cultural nuances and can draw from them to create authentic and culturally relevant design responses.

The lecture contributed to the conference’s broader effort to highlight solutions that show how design can inspire cultural transformation and how cultural heritage can enrich design practice, thereby promoting a more inclusive and sustainable future.

The lecture is the result of the research programme P5-0452, Visual Literacy at the University of Ljubljana, Academy of Fine Arts and Design, co-financed by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency

Photo: University of Moratuwa archive