Introduction

In the sense that designing draws upon tacit, implicit, embodied and non-verbal modes of reasoning, design is ‘unthinkable’. Until recently, the idea of imminent extinction was ‘unthinkable’ (in the emotional sense) because designers were not trained to reimagine the current paradigm. The chapter refers to a 13-billion-year timeline and suggests that designers helped to shape the Anthropocene. In this heterogeneous collection of visions and viewpoints, the book outlines ‘metadesign’ as a comprehensive, self-reflexive, co-creative and systemic framework for co-evolution. Currently, its impact is shaped by a variety of agencies (e.g. government legislation, planning laws, financial frameworks, education and industrial standards). Citing other chapters in the book, it lists ten key criteria that can help us to transition from ‘design’ to ‘metadesign’.