ABSTRACT
In Metamodernism: The Future of Theory, Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm (2021) structures a new timeframe to understand better the 20th century; the pre-modern, the modern, and the post-modern, which gives way to the metamodern. Metamodernism is a way of viewing the world that emphasises a kind of integrated pluralism. Given the latest development in design during the late 19th century and 20th century, this framework may assist to understand the evolution of its practice. Following this framework, the evolution of design practice may be structured in four fundamental periods; pre-modern embodied by the craftsman, modern embodied by the industrial designer (Papanek's “Like It Is”), post-modern embodied by the innovator (Papanek's “How It Could Be”; Papanek, 1972) and an emerging metamodern paradigm embodied by what I will describe in this chapter as the Polygenetic designer (Figure 5.1). In what follows, I will review the evolution of design practice from a historical perspective to understand the current intersection between design and biology. This position will lead a case for the Polygenetic designer and a potential operational framework.
