How can we equip the next generation of designers with skills for eco-social design and stewardship of our ecosystems?

As design education struggles to move beyond old paradigms, this book explores the set of skills that must be incorporated into contemporary design education. Jan Eckert provides a framework for eco-social design education that emphasizes stewardship for people, communities, and our planet.

Stewardship in Design delves into the practical skills that are critical to addressing the challenges posed by our interconnected global and systemic polycrisis and ensuring that design education remains relevant and resilient.

Written for design students and professionals alike, this book is ideal reading for students and educators in human-centered design studies, visual communication design, product design, interaction design, service design, eco-social design, and design management.

Dr Jan Eckert is an urbanist, author, and researcher exploring eco-social transformation through phenomenological methodology and photographic inquiry. Based in Switzerland, he serves as a researcher at Lugano Living Lab and visiting professor at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. His two decades of leadership in higher education and applied research inform his integration of critical systems thinking, place-making and inner development.