Singular and Shared: Exploring Metaphors and Systems

Abstract

This dialogue proposal builds on two accepted short papers at RSD 10, ‘Making metaphors matter within SOD’ by Palak Dudani, and ‘Metaphors and Systems’ by Dan Lockton. We have collaborated to bring together some of the themes explored in our papers into a participatory format which we believe will be an engaging activity and
conversation at the conference.

Metaphors are important in systemic design. One the one hand, they provide plural forms of abstraction, to enable us to describe otherwise invisible relationships or concepts in new ways. There is a long history of metaphorical thinking in systems theory and cybernetics working along these lines, including establishing parallels between natural and artificial systems, and also in design, where strategic use of metaphors is often a way of introducing people to new things (types of product, modes of interaction) by giving a link to something they already understand.

Full text

Singular and Shared:
Exploring Metaphors and Systems
A dialogue proposal for RSD 10
Palak Dudani and Dan Lockton
Keywords: Metaphors, Systems, Participatory, Pluriversal
Background: Metaphors and Systems
This dialogue proposal builds on two accepted short papers at RSD 10, ‘Making metaphors matter within SOD’ by
Palak Dudani, and ‘Metaphors and Systems’ by Dan Lockton. We have collaborated to bring together some of the
themes explored in our papers into a participatory format which we believe will be an engaging activity and
conversation at the conference.
Metaphors are important in systemic design. One the one hand, they provide plural forms of abstraction, to
enable us to describe otherwise invisible relationships or concepts in new ways. There is a long history of
metaphorical thinking in systems theory and cybernetics working along these lines, including establishing
parallels between natural and artificial systems, and also in design, where strategic use of metaphors is often a
way of introducing people to new things (types of product, modes of interaction) by giving a link to something
they already understand.
Practically, in participatory contexts, metaphors also help us access and build associations with cultural
knowledge, where different stakeholders can use familiar concepts as scaffolding to form and express their
unique understandings of a complex system that is otherwise challenging to comprehend, through a process of
exploring aspects such as associations, embodying, materialising, diversifying, and probing. The everyday
qualities of metaphors support forming a more culturally rich view of complex systems, also potentially elevating
the softer, transient, dynamic and emergent qualities of complex systems in awareness. Equally, metaphors can
be generative—offering creative ways to reinterpret and reimagine the systems we are part of. How would
systemic design approaches differ if we started with alternative metaphors, discarding or flipping embedded
assumptions? We take a stance essentially that our ways of talking about systems themselves are itself often
metaphorical: complex systems are abstract and conceptual in nature, and questions about the extent to which
systems ‘exist’, and where the boundaries are drawn, are part of exploring their fuzzy, indeterminate, relational,
poetic, and emergent qualities.
Our proposal for this RSD 10 dialogue is to explore, with the conference audience, some of these ideas through an
activity, and discussion which values the wide and diverse expertise and experience present within the
systemic design community. In participatory contexts, metaphors can help us access and build associations with
cultural knowledge, where different stakeholders can use familiar concepts as scaffolding to form and express
their unique understandings of complex systems. We will use the idea of explaining to different audiences as a
way to frame the activity as a form of cultural probe, and engage participants during the dialogue session to
unpack their ways of thinking about systems through metaphors. Our interest in this activity is not primarily to
analyse the metaphors themselves, but to capture and share the variety of ways of thinking, to support a
pluriversal way of engaging with the world.

Format
For Stage 1 of our plan, we will prepare an A5 size template in both print and online (Miro) format. The template
will have a challenge statement, instructions for the activity and a dedicated blank space for creative expression.
Stage 1: Activity
The creative activity will be done individually by participants throughout the conference (based around a quick,
fun, 5-minute challenge to use metaphors to describe particular systemic issues to different audiences, with a
ready-made template). This includes both physical templates and a simultaneous Miro version for online
conference participants.
Stage 2: Collection and Preparation
At the conference, participants present in-person will pin their completed templates to a display board to create a
‘wall of metaphors’ (which will be present throughout the conference, and also the poster session) to complement
the Miro board for online participants.
Stage 3: Discussion
The dialogue session (1 hour total), ideally taking place towards the end of the conference, will comprise 30
minutes of presenting and exploring the metaphors created by participants physically and online, and some of the
trends, dimensions, and themes emerging. This will be followed by a 30-minute discussion and analysis with
session participants, exploring ways in which these ideas can be taken further, applied in practical contexts, and
developed.
Panel members
We would like to invite others present at the conference with a specific interest in these topics to participate in the
dialogue session in a more explicit ‘expert’ role, whether online or in person, but would aim to approach people
once the list of accepted papers is available so that we can draw from a wider cross-section of the conference
participants.
Facilitators
Palak Dudani and Dan Lockton
Additional details
Online or on campus: Both
Maximum number of participants: 20 approx. in person; can include more online
Any support you might need (e.g. room set up, materials etc.):
1. Materials: A bulletin board or display board for the duration of conference
2. A room with projector/big screen, a big table with space for up to 20 people
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References
A wide range of relevant references from the systemic design literature and outside of it are included in our
papers:
Dudani, P. (2021). Making metaphors matter within SOD. RSD10: Relating Systems Thinking and
Design Symposium 2021, Delft. Preprint:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353849262_Making_metaphors_matter_within_SOD
Lockton, D. (2021). Metaphors and Systems. RSD10: Relating Systems Thinking and Design
Symposium 2021, Delft. Preprint:
http://imaginari.es/publications/Metaphors_and_Systems_RSD10_Lockton_draft.pdf
but some which are especially relevant are:
Aguirre Ulloa, M. and Paulsen, A.(2017). ‘Co-designing with relationships in mind: Introducing
relational material mapping’. Form Akademisk 10(1) 1–14.
Boehnert, J. (2018). The Visual Representation of Complexity: Sixteen Key Characteristics of Complex
Systems. RSD7: Relating Systems Thinking and Design Symposium 2018, Turin.
https://systemic-design.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/6-Boehnert.pdf
Dudani, P. (2020). From Wealth to Well-being – A systems oriented design exploration of imagining
alternatives in urban housing. In Proceedings of Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD9) 2020
Symposium. Ahmedabad, India, October 9-17, 2020.
Dudani, P. (2019b). Wealth to Wellbeing: A systems exploration in imagining alternatives within
housing in Norway (Master's Thesis). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2682171
Halsall, F. (2021). Systems: Between Metaphor and Infrastructure. In: O’Neill, P. (2021), Systems: User
or Used? Science Gallery Dublin, Ireland.
Lakoff, G., Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we Live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN:
978-0-226-46800-6
Lockton, D., Brawley, L. Aguirre Ulloa, M., Prindible, M., Forlano, L., Rygh, K., Fass, J., Herzog, K.,
Nissen, B. (2019a). ‘Tangible Thinking: Materializing how we imagine and understand interdisciplinary
systems, experiences, and relationships’. Workshop at RSD8: Relating Systems Thinking and Design
Symposium 2019, 17–19 October 2019, Chicago. Available at http://imaginari.es/tangible
Lockton, D., Singh, D., Sabnis, S., Chou, M., Foley, S., & Pantoja, A. (2019b). New Metaphors: A
workshop method for generating ideas and reframing problems in design and beyond. In Proceedings of
the 2019 ACM Conference on Creativity and Cognition (pp. 319-332).
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3325480.3326570
Morrison A. (2019). ‘Anticipation and design’. Invited guest speaker. Imagining Collaborative
Future-Making. Malmö University: Malmö. 12-13 November.
Phillips, R., Lockton, D., Baurley, S., Silve, S. (2013) ‘Making instructions for others: exploring mental
models through a simple exercise’. Interactions 20(5), 74-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2505290
Sevaldson, B. (2013). Systems Oriented Design: The emergence and development of a designerly
approach to address complexity. DRS//CUMULUS, 14-17.
Stoyko, P. (2019). SystemViz Codex v.1.5.0. Available at http://www.elanica.com/systemviz/
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