The Masters has been a personal journey. Where before I felt a bit of a rough diamond, I feel a little more polished. As passionate as I am about my subject, I now understand that no-one wants to hear rhetoric; they simply switch off. It feels good to talk about my research in a calm, informed and academic manner where people feel more compelled to listen.

I cringe when I look back. I wasn’t/am not a Luddite but believing that we are becoming cyborgs with the increasing adoption of ‘connected’ technology or that technology is to blame for the fractured, unsustainable society we live in, seems very naive to me now. Perhaps it is not so different to the thoughtless opinions posted on social media that I’ve been critical over.

Technology is simply man’s natural evolution, born out of our curiosity and imagination to create.

The smartphone, my main gripe, became successful not because the technology was enforced on us but because we as a culture embraced it. As with the origins of the wristwatch, the mobile phone was a symbol of success and yuppiedom. This gradually became more affordable for the masses. It filled a need, keeping us mobile and in contact ‘just in case of emergencies’. With wi-fi and 3G, the smartphone soared; our needs were met with entertainment, social media and endless apps, all in one device.

I am correct that this smart device transforms how we behave; however technology has always done this historically. It is the speed at which mobile and wireless technology has progressed that we are seeing change in a much shorter timeframe, both economically and ecologically with climate change and social unrest; Syria being our recent example.

The same technology I blamed for fracturing society is also the one that has helped boost the economy in third world countries, aid refugees fleeing their homes and given a voice for groups that have cited change.

Through Fry’s work, looking at various cultures, capitalism and politics, I have come to realise that it is we humans that are the destructive species. We differentiated ourselves from animals as ‘human’ the moment we started making/creating objects and tools. These were ontological things that evolved mankind into the Agent of Enlightenment.

The Industrial Revolution was a massive surge in our evolution towards technology, not to mention the catalyst towards the unsustainable. With mass production things became affordable. Our needs were filled and media fed our desires, directing us into a consumeristic culture of plastic and wastefulness. Capitalism surged as Credit became available and it has become our Agent since. 

Fry argues that we need an Agent that is Sustainability and that Design, and Education, should be redirected from a service industry to one that can redirect change, by being ontological.

Obviously this is a massive task and not only does it undertake politics and capitalism, it will also take time. Fry states that we will go through dark times with fierce climate change and social unrest. For someone who was on a rampage for change, and not known for being patient, this came as a huge disappointment and I felt deflated for a time.

However Fry has been inspirational with his call-to-arms for designers/makers to act and ‘make more time’, by redirecting change ontologically. As a designer servicing the ‘system’, I’ve worked in industrius IT organisations where I’ve defended designers as solution makers rather than makers of pretty things. Since reading Fry, I now feel empowered.