Journal
Notes, essays and updates from the Academy.
- Newsletters
[machine-seed] Journal News render-check
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July 31, 2026
- Newsletters
What Is Symbiotic Design?
An introduction to a framework that treats every design relationship as alive, never neutral.
July 11, 2026
- Newsletters
Tame, Wicked, or Hybrid? The Question to Ask Before You Choose a Method
Two designers can face the same brief and need completely different approaches. Here is how to tell which one you are holding.
July 11, 2026
NewsFour Weeks Teaching the Design Framework at Henan University
Gonzalo spent four weeks teaching the Symbiotic Design Framework to first-year architecture students at Henan University, leaning on translation apps to bridge the language gap.
June 13, 2026
NewsMore Scenes Where Past Meets Future at Henan Drama Fantasy City
The Academy shares more scenes from Only Henan · Drama Fantasy City, the immersive theatrical park blending ancient history with modern stagecraft.
June 13, 2026
NewsExploring Ancient Bronze and Stone Artifacts at Henan Museum
The Academy toured Zhengzhou's Henan Museum, where Shang and Zhou bronzes sit beside stone carvings defaced in past upheavals — proof that culture lives in people, not stone.
June 13, 2026
NewsWhy Flea Markets Reveal a More Honest History
Symbiotic Design Academy explores why Beijing's Panjiayuan flea market reveals a messier, truer history than museums, home to the raw 'Proto-Design' objects from Symbiotic Design Framework.
June 13, 2026
NewsExploring History and Art in Beijing's 798 Art District
The Academy's founder wandered Beijing's 798 Art District, its Cold War-era factories now galleries, and found a quiet restaurant scene straight out of Edward Hopper.
June 13, 2026
NewsMeeting Tsinghua Professor Sai Ma to Discuss Design, AI and Ethics
The Academy's founder capped a China trip by meeting Tsinghua's Prof. Sai Ma to discuss design, AI, and ethics, and delivering copies of his book to the faculty.
June 13, 2026
NewsMeeting Zhang Jinhuan and Her Ink Shop in Zhengzhou
Gonzalo visited Madam Zhang Jinhuan's ink studio in Zhengzhou, where she hand-grinds pigments to paint devotional Buddhist scrolls and talismans.
May 31, 2026
NewsDiscovering Vintage Chinese Ink Paintings at a Market Stall
Gonzalo found two vintage Chinese ink paintings at a market stall, and a note tucked inside revealed the artist: Hao Shilin, trained at Hangzhou's elite art academy.
May 31, 2026
NewsVisiting the Shaolin Temple in China's Songshan Mountains
Gonzalo visits the Shaolin Temple in Henan's Songshan Mountains, founded in the 5th century as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu, struck by its calm, hierarchical architecture.
May 25, 2026
- News
Four Weeks Teaching the Design Framework at Henan University
Gonzalo spent four weeks teaching the Symbiotic Design Framework to first-year architecture students at Henan University, leaning on translation apps to bridge the language gap.
June 13, 2026
- News
More Scenes Where Past Meets Future at Henan Drama Fantasy City
The Academy shares more scenes from Only Henan · Drama Fantasy City, the immersive theatrical park blending ancient history with modern stagecraft.
June 13, 2026
- News
Exploring Ancient Bronze and Stone Artifacts at Henan Museum
The Academy toured Zhengzhou's Henan Museum, where Shang and Zhou bronzes sit beside stone carvings defaced in past upheavals — proof that culture lives in people, not stone.
June 13, 2026
- News
Why Flea Markets Reveal a More Honest History
Symbiotic Design Academy explores why Beijing's Panjiayuan flea market reveals a messier, truer history than museums, home to the raw 'Proto-Design' objects from Symbiotic Design Framework.
June 13, 2026
- News
Exploring History and Art in Beijing's 798 Art District
The Academy's founder wandered Beijing's 798 Art District, its Cold War-era factories now galleries, and found a quiet restaurant scene straight out of Edward Hopper.
June 13, 2026
- News
Meeting Tsinghua Professor Sai Ma to Discuss Design, AI and Ethics
The Academy's founder capped a China trip by meeting Tsinghua's Prof. Sai Ma to discuss design, AI, and ethics, and delivering copies of his book to the faculty.
June 13, 2026
- News
Meeting Zhang Jinhuan and Her Ink Shop in Zhengzhou
Gonzalo visited Madam Zhang Jinhuan's ink studio in Zhengzhou, where she hand-grinds pigments to paint devotional Buddhist scrolls and talismans.
May 31, 2026
- News
Discovering Vintage Chinese Ink Paintings at a Market Stall
Gonzalo found two vintage Chinese ink paintings at a market stall, and a note tucked inside revealed the artist: Hao Shilin, trained at Hangzhou's elite art academy.
May 31, 2026
- News
Visiting the Shaolin Temple in China's Songshan Mountains
Gonzalo visits the Shaolin Temple in Henan's Songshan Mountains, founded in the 5th century as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu, struck by its calm, hierarchical architecture.
May 25, 2026
NewsExploring the Longmen Grottoes as a Lesson in Proto-Design
While teaching the Symbiotic Design Framework in China, Gonzalo toured Luoyang's Longmen Grottoes, where thousands of Buddhist statues are carved into cliffs above the Yi River.
May 24, 2026
NewsOnly Henan Drama Fantasy City Amazes During China Trip
Gonzalo was awed by Only Henan · Drama Fantasy City, the immersive theatrical complex blending ancient Chinese history with modern staging, during his China trip.
May 23, 2026
NewsReflections on Reaching and Growing New Design Communities
Gonzalo reflects on the challenge and reward of introducing symbiotic design thinking to communities encountering it for the first time.
May 18, 2026
- Videos
New Design Book Born from Decades of Research
Symbiotic Design Academy unveiled a book distilling eight years of research and 360 designer interviews into a personal, sometimes provocative take on design's ethics and future.
December 17, 2025
- Videos
Symbiotic Design Academy Presented at CV+i Circular Day
Gonzalo presented the Symbiotic Design Academy project at CV+i's Circular Day, an event centered on circular economy and systemic design.
September 28, 2023
- Videos
Symbiotic Design Academy Launches First Course on Earth Day
Gonzalo marked Earth Day by launching the Academy's first course, teaching a design framework centered on sustainability and interconnectedness.
April 23, 2023
- Videos
Explaining the Symbiotic Design Framework and Free Course
Gonzalo explains the Symbiotic Design Framework, an approach centered on the interconnections within design processes, and points viewers to the Academy's free introductory course.
April 21, 2023
- Videos
Congress of Design Policies Explores Design's Broader Role
Gonzalo poses the questions behind the Congress of Design Policies: if design solves problems so well, why isn't it used more broadly as a cornerstone for a better future.
November 3, 2022
- Videos
Founder Shares a Lovely Day in Saint-Cyprien
A brief, sunny moment Gonzalo shared from Saint-Cyprien, a seaside town on France's Mediterranean coast.
August 11, 2022
- Videos
Streets Are Alive: A Look at Public Spaces
A brief video capturing the energy of public space, with Gonzalo simply noting that the streets are alive with everyday activity.
August 8, 2022
- Videos
Home Studio Set Up for a Lockdown Design Project
During lockdown, Gonzalo rigged up a makeshift home studio, using a Sony A7III and iMac setup to keep a new project moving.
May 29, 2020
- Videos
Live Music and Murals Mark Return Trip to Buenos Aires
Gonzalo caught live music from Amor Elefante against a backdrop of Juan Molinet murals on a fourth visit to Buenos Aires, just before the final stretch of his PhD.
July 15, 2018
- Videos
Tomás Saraceno's Spider-Web Installation Featured in Buenos Aires
Gonzalo shares Tomás Saraceno's installation How to Entangle the Universe in a Spider Web, built over six months by roughly 7,000 Parawixia bistriata spiders, on view in Buenos Aires.
March 11, 2018
- Videos
Leon Ferrari's 'Opus 113' Concrete Art Sculpture
A look at Opus 113 by Argentine concrete artist León Ferrari, whose kinetic sculpture work Gonzalo photographs in Buenos Aires.
March 4, 2018
- Videos
Founder Shares a Lovely Day in Saint-Cyprien
A brief, sunny moment Gonzalo shared from Saint-Cyprien, a seaside town on France's Mediterranean coast.
August 11, 2022
- Videos
Streets Are Alive: A Look at Public Spaces
A brief video capturing the energy of public space, with Gonzalo simply noting that the streets are alive with everyday activity.
August 8, 2022
NewsTaking a Short Walk Through the City of Toulouse
A short stroll through the streets of Toulouse, one of the quieter travel moments Gonzalo shares between lectures and conferences.
August 5, 2022
NewsA Visit to Donostia-San Sebastián, One of Spain's Most Beautiful Cities
Gonzalo called Donostia-San Sebastián, in Spain's Basque Country, one of the most beautiful cities he's visited, drawn to its coastal setting.
August 1, 2022
NewsVisiting the Basílica del Pilar in Zaragoza
Gonzalo stopped at the Basílica del Pilar in Zaragoza, the grand Baroque basilica on the Ebro River and one of Spain's most visited Marian shrines.
July 31, 2022
NewsStreet Art Spotted in Zaragoza, Spain
A stop in Zaragoza, Spain, to take in the city's street art, part of Gonzalo's ongoing eye for public and vernacular design while traveling.
July 31, 2022
NewsA Visit to the City of Pamplona
A stop in Pamplona, the Navarre city known worldwide for its San Fermín festival and running of the bulls.
July 31, 2022
News'Conversaciones a Cuatro' Dialogue Held at Valencia's Agora
Held at Valencia's Agora, 'Conversaciones a Cuatro' gathered four voices ahead of November's Design Policy Conference, part of World Design Capital Valencia 2022's program.
July 22, 2022
NewsWorld Design Organization Hosts 24-Hour Leadership Conference
Gonzalo shares the World Design Organization's 24-hour livestream for World Industrial Design Day, featuring design leaders on driving change in their communities.
June 29, 2022
NewsTaking a Moment to Rest and Reflect
A quiet moment for Gonzalo to slow down, rest, and reflect amid a busy stretch of travel and design work.
June 22, 2022
NewsiF Design Talent Awards Held Outside Germany for First Time
The iF Design Talent Awards leave Germany for the first time, held at Valencia's Oceanogràfic inside Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences, made possible by its year as World Design Capital.
June 17, 2022
NewsAgora Valencia Officially Opens for World Design Capital
Agora Valencia opens as part of World Design Capital Valencia 2022, an effort Gonzalo praises for bringing design's benefits to the whole community, not just designers.
June 16, 2022