Design is undergoing a revolution. Technology is empowering more people to create and disseminate designs, and professionals and enthusiasts are using it to share their work with the world. Open design is changing everything from furniture to how designers make a living. One of the contributors, Tommi Laitio (researcher for Finland’s think-tank Demos) investigates on the use of open design for worldwide problems such as depletion an squandering of natural resources, population growth, consumerism and widespread poverty. Can pooling knowledge and resources, in turn, help to make open design a strong contribution to sustainability? For Tommi, ‘open design is a tool to solve problems that arise from systemic moral bankruptcy, building stronger communities along the way… The right question to ask is not which process will lead to the best design. The fundamental question is far simpler: what is right and what is just?’

Open Design Now is published as a book. But all content will be opened up freely over the coming months here.