This thesis explores the precarious working conditions of designers and strategies to combat them. It examines how precariousness is produced and maintained within the capitalist economy. The author analyzes design education and practices, relating them to broader economic and social forces. The research includes practical experiments, such as shared residencies and collective projects, aimed at creating alternative economic cultures for designers. Feminist and autonomist Marxist perspectives inform the analysis, emphasizing commoning, care, and the refusal of traditional work models as potential solutions. The author proposes a shift towards collective action and challenges designers to rethink their role in society beyond market-driven values.

Please note that the podcast covers key points from the source with synthetic voices, which may have glitches. It’s a reflective, not comprehensive, interpretation.

Elzenbaumer, Bianca. “Designing Economic Cultures: Cultivating Socially and Politically Engaged Design Practices against Procedures of Precarisation.” Goldsmiths College University of London, 2013. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.25602/GOLD.00009920.

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