What is Life-Centered Design?
Season 3: Episode 19
What is Life-Centered Design? What is Life-Centered Systems Thinking? Are they different? Are they better than Human Centered Design? And most importantly, how do we design with all life in mind?
Michelle Fehler, Charlene Sequeira, and Jeroen Spoelstra join Eric in this final “back-to-school” episode which we hope, inspires you to learn more about the merits of life-centered design. The guests today all argue that life-centered design and systems thinking are a needed transition away from human-centered design (HCD) and design thinking. We are nature, not separate from it. So we need to consider more than just us in our design work as clearly Mother Earth isn’t happy with our past and current antics with fossil fuels and pollution. If we understand how we fit in with and the important interconnectedness of nature, then possibly we can create in a better balance respecting all around us.
Listen to this episode on: Spotify, Apple, Google and other places you get your podcastsAbout our guests
Michelle Fehler
Michelle’s love for nature sprouted during her childhood in Switzerland where she grew up surrounded by green and lush vegetation and many farm animals. In her mid-twenties, she decided to move to Phoenix for a 6-month adventure. After 25 years, she calls Phoenix her home.
She is a trained graphic designer with a Master's in Nature-based Graphic Design and a second Master's in Biomimicry. She is also a certified Biomimicry Professional through Biomimicry 3.8. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at The Design School at Arizona State University, where she teaches various multi-disciplinary design studios, lectures, and seminars to undergraduate and graduate students.
She has presented her work at various conferences such as World Usability Day, AIGA Y-conference, AIGA Phoenix Design Week, SustainbleUX, Audubon Society, European Academy of Design, Liberty Wildlife, Target HQ, Renaissance, and the Swiss Design Network. Her work has been published in Cooper Hewitt’s Summer 2019 Design Journal, The Design Journal, and Biomimetics (MDPI).
Charlene Samantha Sequeira
Charlene is a transdisciplinary designer, strategist, and educator, passionate about the intersection of design, education, and sustainability. As she continues to reflect on her lived experiences and those of others, finding inclusive and accessible regenerative solutions to complex socio-environmental challenges has become both a personal and professional pursuit. Sequeira’s multifaceted design experiences across four countries (so far) are shaped by curiosity and compassion. With a focus on developing brand strategies, creating low-carbon digital solutions, and communicating systemic relationships, she brings openness and adaptability to her approach to creative problem-solving and design.
Charlene is currently working at RISDs Center for Complexity as a Strategic Designer and Researcher. She also freelances as a consultant with a focus on social impact and sustainability.
Jeroen Spoelstra
Jeroen is a Dutch designer & educator with over 15 years of experience leading and executing meaningful human-centered design and visual communication projects. He works and lives in a tiny village in The Spanish Pyrenees.
Spoelstra’s currently developing Life-Centered Design; is a new design approach that goes beyond human needs and gives nature a voice. One of the first results of the work we are doing is the Life-Centered Design School.
His curiosity, empathy, attention to detail, and love for answering complex questions allow him to provide solutions and design outcomes for his client’s needs.
On the web
Michelle Fehler
linkedin.com/in/michelle-fehler-638ab37
Charlene Samantha Sequeira
linkedin.com/in/charlenesequeira
Jeroen Spoelstra
linkedin.com/in/jeroenspoelstra
Resources in this episode
How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum
iSites: Nature Journaling for Biomimicry
A Shift to Life-Centered Systems Thinking: Teaching Modules to Design Regenerative Futures
Find more about how to teach climate design in your classroom at www.climatedesigners.org/edu
Music in this episode
Nature sound effect by bbc.co.uk – ©2023 BBC
Theme music by Casual Motive
Design Team
Consulting
Climate Design Assignments
At the end of each episode, we ask our guests what their ideal climate design project would be. They have four weeks with a class full of design students. We translated their response into a project brief that you can use for your class.
