Abstract
Social Design (SD) is increasingly seeking to engage local communities supporting just and sustainable transitions. However, a critical gap remains in how SD practices can move beyond human-centered approaches to engage meaningfully with more-than-human (MTH) perspectives—an area still largely shaped by theoretical discourse and underexplored in practice. This paper addresses how an initial comparative analysis of indigenous and local knowledge systems (ILK) may inform the development of place-based, relational design methodologies for transdisciplinary projects in rural contexts.
Through exploratory literature review and comparative analysis, we examine the epistemological convergences and divergences between ILKs, focusing on their potential to inform MTH approaches in SD. Our analysis shows that while both knowledge systems challenge dominant anthropocentric paradigms through their emphasis on relationality, place-based expertise, and intergenerational transmission, they differ in their cultural contexts, historical experiences, and epistemological orientations.
Based on this comparative analysis, we propose a preliminary methodological framing for ethically integrating indigenous and local knowledge systems into SD practice that honors more-than-human relations. The work re-frames design processes as co-constitutive and dialogical rather than extractive, reconceptualizing designers as facilitators rather than experts, and developing tools that engage with relational ontologies including non-human actors without reducing them to Western categories.
About the Authors:
Dr. Florian Sametinger is a designer and professor of design research and design theory at the University of Arts Linz. In his work, he intensively explores the friction points between design and sustainability, regenerative cultures, and participation.
Dr. Sven Quadflieg is a design researcher focusing on social/political design, more-than-human design, and technological transformation. He is a board member of DGTF and the Posthumanism+Design Network and works as a professor at the Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences.
Dr. Andrea Augsten is a design management scholar focused on innovation ecosystems and design practices in transformation. She is a board member of DGTF, an associated member of the German Club of Rome, and Guest Professor for Design & Transformation at TU Dresden until mid-2025.
Contact: florian.sametinger@kunstuni-linz.at
