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Design for Collectives: Rethinking design for collective being

Design for Collectives: Rethinking design for collective being

By: Sonja Oliveira & Anna Chatzimichali
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About this listen

We design by abstracting real people into manageable constructs to make the design processes easier. But with just this one lens, we lose sight of the collective context - the relationships, interconnections and impacts that shape how people live.



Design for Collectives is a new podcast exploring what happens when we design in isolation, disconnected from the collective context where people actually exist and interact. Not to provide answers, but to open up conversations about what we might be missing and what might shift if we reframe design with collective contexts in mind.



Hosted by Professor Sonia Oliveira (Associate Dean and Professor in Architecture and Sustainability Design Innovation, University of Strathclyde) and Anna Chatzimichali (Associate Professor in Engineering Design, University of Bath), each episode features designers, researchers and practitioners wrestling with these questions in their own work, bringing their provocations, uncertainties and emerging thinking into the open.



You'll hear honest conversations with designers navigating collective complexity in real projects: How do you design when the “user” is actually multiple interconnected groups with competing needs? What happens when you try to account for relationships and collective dynamics, not just individual interactions. Where do our methods fall short and what are people experimenting with instead?

Episodes bring together perspectives from architecture, engineering, urban planning, service design and beyond, not to create a unified approach, but to understand how different fields are grappling with similar tensions.



Expect practical examples alongside unresolved questions, emerging thinking and reflections on what collective design might actually entail.



This is for anyone whose work touches collective life: Designers across any discipline (architecture, engineering, product, UX, service, systems), practitioners in healthcare, transport, energy, retail and public services, researchers, educators, policy makers, and anyone curious about how design shapes the way groups of people live, work and thrive together.



The conversations are international, accessible and assume familiarity with design practice without oversimplifying the challenges. This podcast is for people who want to think more carefully, not more simply, about collective design.



Sonia Oliveira, University of Strathclyde - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sonja-dragojlovic-oliveira/

Anna Chatzimichali, University of Bath - https://www.linkedin.com/in/annachatzimichali/



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sonja Oliveira Art Career Success Economics
Episodes
  • Design for Collectives — In Conversation with Matt Ford: Inclusive Design in Practice

    Design for Collectives — In Conversation with Matt Ford: Inclusive Design in Practice
    Feb 15 2026

    In this guest episode of Design for Collectives, host Anna Chatzimichali, Associate Professor of Engineering Design at the University of Bath, is joined by Matt Ford, industrial designer at Designability, a UK charity developing life-changing products for disabled children and adults.


    Designability’s work spans everything from adapted pushchairs for disabled parents to powered wheelchairs for children, as well as research into how vehicles and electric charging infrastructure can better serve disabled communities.


    With a background working for major manufacturing brands including Dyson and Airbus, Matt brings deep industry experience alongside a commitment to inclusive, user-centred design.


    This conversation explores how thoughtful design can remove barriers, expand independence, and ensure that emerging technologies, including those shaping the energy transition, work for everyone.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    49 mins
  • Design for Collectives — In Conversation with Kathy Peach: Collective Intelligence for Social Change

    Design for Collectives — In Conversation with Kathy Peach: Collective Intelligence for Social Change
    Feb 15 2026

    In this guest episode of Design for Collectives, host Sonja Oliveira, Associate Dean and Professor in Architecture and Sustainability Design Innovation at the University of Strathclyde, is joined by Kathy Peach, Director of the Centre for Collective Intelligence Design at Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency focused on delivering social change.


    Kathy’s work explores how collective intelligence, combining human knowledge, data, and technology, can help tackle complex global challenges. She is the lead author of the Collective Intelligence Design Playbook and works in partnership with organisations including the United Nations Development Programme and the International Federation of the Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies.


    Drawing on a career spanning international development, public health, disability advocacy, and global policy, this conversation explores how collective intelligence can shape better decision-making, more inclusive systems, and new approaches to social innovation.


    A thought-provoking discussion about collaboration, technology, and designing solutions that work at scale.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    36 mins
  • Design for Collectives — In Conversation with Roberto Cavallo: Architecture, Cities, and Collective Futures

    Design for Collectives — In Conversation with Roberto Cavallo: Architecture, Cities, and Collective Futures
    Feb 15 2026

    In this guest episode of Design for Collectives, host Sonja Oliveira, Associate Dean and Professor in Architecture and Sustainability Design Innovation at the University of Strathclyde, is joined by Roberto Cavallo, Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture & the Built Environment at Delft University of Technology, and President of the European Association of Architectural Education.


    With a career spanning both academic research and professional practice, Roberto explores how architecture can help shape the future in a time of rapid urban and environmental change. His work focuses on the evolving role of design across disciplines, the transformation of cities, and the social and environmental challenges shaping public space today.


    From mobility infrastructure and urban transitions to sustainable and inclusive city-making, this conversation explores how architects can work collaboratively, alongside communities, policymakers, and other disciplines, to respond to the climate crisis and the energy transition.


    A wide-ranging discussion about design, responsibility, and the future of our shared urban environments.



    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    32 mins
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