Symbiotic
Design
Framework
Rethinking Design from within
A systemic approach to destroy Design’s actual model and build a better world in the meantime
A book by Dr. Gonzalo Raineri
This book is a deliberate provocation, designed to make you think. You will either embrace its message or reject it; there is no middle ground. It will challenge your assumptions, ignite your anger, and perhaps, instill in you a potent, even dangerous, sense of optimism. If you are a designer, be prepared for a dose of disappointment.
This is not a typical design book. It ventures far beyond the discipline's traditional boundaries, delving into the intricate connections between design, economics, sustainability, and ethics. It confronts the complex legacy of post-colonialism and challenges the myth of "neutral" design. This book does not offer easy answers or neat categorizations. Instead, it weaves together a complex tapestry of theories, case studies, and unresolved questions, mirroring the messy reality of the world we inhabit.
Consider this book a monster, pieced together from the remnants of other intellectual beasts. But this monster is an honest guide for navigating the complexities of our time, a companion for those who refuse to accept simplistic solutions. The author, a designer with over four decades of experience, presents a passionate and deeply researched argument.
Forget about finding a simple set of instructions or a step-by-step methodology. This book offers something far more valuable: a conceptual framework for ethical action in the world. Its ultimate goal is Eudomonia-the well-being of all living things. It provides not a set of universal rules, but a collection of concepts and tools that can be adapted and applied in various contexts.
The ideas presented here are the product of real-world observation, experimentation, and struggle. This is a book for practitioners, for those who create the artifacts and systems that shape our world. If you are looking for quick fixes, you will be sorely disappointed. But if you are ready to engage in the difficult work of systemic thinking and ethical practice, you may find this book provides you with a new and more stable foundation.
This book makes a powerful claim: competence without a conscience is vandalism, and conscience without competence is mere posturing. It demands both. So, come with an open mind, but also with a healthy dose of skepticism. Embrace your curiosity. The journey will be challenging, but the rewards will be immense.
Content
Is contemporary design failing us? In an era defined by cascading crises—from ecological collapse to profound social inequality—prevailing design paradigms often feel inadequate, complicit in the very systems driving unsustainability. Dr. Gonzalo Raineri Bernain's Symbiotic Design Framework offers a radical, theoretically robust alternative for academics, researchers, and advanced practitioners seeking to fundamentally reorient the discipline.
This seminal work introduces a groundbreaking proposition: Design as an autopoietic (self-creating) social system. Drawing rigorously from systems biology (Maturana, Varela), cybernetics, and sociology (Luhmann), Raineri argues that design sustains and evolves itself through its own internal operations. Understanding this self-producing nature is crucial for intervening effectively.
The framework provides a powerful diagnostic and strategic lens built on the biological concept of symbiosis. It moves beyond analyzing isolated components to evaluating the relationships between them. Are they mutualistic, parasitic, commensal? This relational analysis is guided by the framework's non-negotiable ethical core: the "Four Mottos":
Ethics: The foundational pursuit of collective flourishing (Eudaimonia) and justice for all beings, informed by pluriversal perspectives.
Sustainability: An ethical obligation for intergenerational and inter-species equity, demanding regenerative practices.
Social Responsibility: An active commitment to equity, dignity, challenging systemic injustice, and collective liberation.
Economics: Reframed as an ethical pursuit of shared prosperity and fundamental needs fulfillment, rejecting purely extractive models.
Key conceptual tools include:
Seven Interdependent Components: Humans (Who?), Commissions (Why?), Observations (Based on What?), Procedures (How?), Partners (With Whom?), Technology (With What?), Outcomes (What?).
Three Operational Dimensions: Mapping activity across the self-producing Core, the interactive Frontier, and the contextual Environment.
Tame vs. Wicked Problems Distinction: A critical diagnostic for navigating complexity.
Engagement with Time: Understanding design's operation within past legacies, present flux, and future responsibilities.
The Symbiotic Design Framework challenges practitioners to move beyond designing mere objects or optimizing flawed systems. It demands a shift towards stewarding living relationships over time, consciously engaging with design as an inherently political act, and actively countering the extractive logics of the Capitalocene. It is a call to embrace complexity, pluriversality, and ethical courage.
Intended for design theorists, doctoral researchers, educators, and high-level practitioners, this book also offers invaluable insights for professionals in systems thinking, sustainability, social innovation, policy, and any field grappling with wicked problems and seeking transformative, ethically grounded approaches. It is not another methodology; it is a fundamental recalibration of the design discipline itself.
231 Terms and Concepts listed.
177 Authors and Thinkers mentioned.
161 examples listed, 35 of them with images.
Specifications
Paperback ISBN: 978-90-836216-0-9
E-book ISBN: 978-90-83621616-1-6
Pages: 332
Binding Type: Paperback Perfect Bound
Interior Color: Color
Dimensions: A4 (8.27 x 11.69 in / 210 x 297 mm)
Index
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We must confront the inescapable reality of when we are. It is a moment defined not by a vague "Anthropos," but by the Capitalocene —a specific economic logic built on "Cheap Nature" and fueling extreme carbon inequality, where the richest 1% emit as much as the poorest 5 billion people. We are mired in interconnected "wicked problems" , leaving us at a crossroads: will design remain complicit in this destruction, or will it finally become a force for healing?
[001] Where Do We Stand in Time?
[002] Finding Our Footing in the 'Now'
[003] The Weight and Wisdom of the Past
[004] The Heart of the Matter: Emotion, Choice, and Why We Design
[005] Breaking Free: The Hard Work of Questioning Dogma
[006] Stepping Towards a Symbiotic Future
[007] Confronting the Anthropocene and Assuming the Capitalocene
[008] Wrestling with Wickedness: The Tangled Knots of Now
[009] Flickers of Awakening: Have We Learned the Lessons?
[010] The Designer's Crossroads: Complicity or Transformation?
[011] Beyond Techniques: A Shift in What We Value
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We must stop seeing Time as a simple, linear progression ; it is the very medium we drift in, an ever-flowing Heraclitean river. This flux reveals design not as a static toolkit, but as a living, autopoietic system , one whose history is deeply complicit in the Capitalocene and the calculated waste of planned obsolescence. Navigating the "wicked problems" of the present demands we embrace this "pluriversal" complexity and understand our knowledge's "Ethnoevolution" to cultivate the temporal wisdom essential for ethical practice.
012] The Unavoidable Medium
[013] The Nature of Time in Design
[014] Design in Flux
[015] Engaging the Past
[016] Navigating the Present
[017] Projecting the Future
[018] The Temporal Paradox and Event Types
[019] Design Ethnoevolution
[020] Cultivating Temporal Wisdom
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We must confront the unavoidable truth: design is inherently, inescapably political , constantly negotiating power. For too long, our field has been blinded by a "Eurocentric" focus and a "civilized gaze" , necessitating a move towards a "pluriverse" of diverse, autonomous design practices. This means challenging the extractive, colonial mindset perpetuated by neoliberalism and our own complicity in cultural appropriation. The legacy of Chile's Project Cybersyn reminds us that radical, systemic thinking can emerge from urgent local needs.
[021] Finding Strength in the Local Perspective
[022] The Search for Your Own North
[023] Chile's Crossroads
[024] The Unavoidable Politics of Shaping Futures
[025] Cybersyn as a Vision of Decentralized Design
[026] Confronting Our Complicity
[027] Every Choice Matters
[028] A Call to Rethink Our Models
[029] Embracing Local Identity for a Truly Symbiotic Future
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The designer's most critical skill is not execution, but diagnosis. We must abandon the catastrophic pitfall of misapplying cherished methodologies , recognizing the fundamental divide between "tame" and "wicked" problems. Tame problems are solvable puzzles; they can be clearly defined and have unambiguous stopping points. Wicked problems, the true challenges of our time, are intractable systems; they resist definitive formulation, have no stopping rule, and offer no "true-or-false" solutions. Most challenges are "Hybrid" , demanding we become versatile navigators capable of reading this complex terrain.
[030] From Tame to Wicked systems
[031] The Primacy of Diagnosis
[032] The Problem Spectrum
[033] Defining Tame Problems
[034] Design's Historical Blind Spot
[035] Deconstructing Wicked Problems
[036] The Core Design Analogy
[037] Complicated vs. Complex
[038] Navigating the Terrain
[039] Navigating a Dynamic System (Wicked Problems)
[040] Navigating Hybrid Terrain (The Most Common Reality)
[041] Key Implications for the Symbiotic Designer
Forging the Foundation
Illuminating the Theory
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The recent surge in systems thinking is not an invention, but a re-discovery of ancient, intuitive wisdom. This holistic grasp of interconnectedness echoes in Greek philosophy , in the Buddhist concept of pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination) , and in the Taoist alignment with natural flow. The 9th-century Borobudur temple stands as a profound masterpiece of systemic design , a 3D mandala guiding a transformative spiritual experience. This ancient wisdom was later formalized in the West through General Systems Theory (von Bertalanffy) and Cybernetics (Wiener) , leading us to the crucial "biological turn": Autopoiesis.
[042] Unearthing the Systemic Roots
[043] Echoes of Systemic Thought in Antiquity
[044] Borobudur as a Systemic Masterpiece
[045] The Emergence of Formal Systems Thinking
[046] Pioneers of Systemic Application in Design
[047] The Biological Turn Towards Autopoiesis
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We must move beyond simplistic models to grasp design's autopoietic heart. The discipline is not its outputs; while artifacts are "allopoietic" (other-produced) , the discipline itself is a living, self-producing system. It maintains its identity through "organizational closure" by perpetually regenerating its own knowledge, practitioners, and discourse. This conscious, intentional act of creation, or "heteropoiesis" , is exclusive to humans. This understanding demands we challenge the myth that "everyone can design" and safeguard the professional "Design Core".
[048] Design as an Autopoietic System
[049] Autopoiesis and Allopoiesis Revisited
[050] Allopoietic Design Artifacts versus the Autopoietic Discipline
[051] Manifestations of Autopoiesis in Design
[052] Self-Production
[053] Knowledge, Methods, and Theories
[054] Practitioners and Disciplinary Roles
[055] Discourse and Communication as Generative Forces
[056] Organizational Closure
[057] Guiding Distinctions within Design's Operational Logic
[058] Structural Coupling
[059] Boundary Maintenance
[060] Heteropoiesis as the Domain of Intentional Human Design
[061] Design as the Heteropoietic Action
[062] Bridging Heteropoietic Acts and Allopoietic Outputs
[063] Operational Framework: Dimensions, Components, and Variables
[064] Dimensions: Mapping Design's Operational Space
[065] Design's Core
[066] Design's Frontier
[067] Environment (Ecological Niche)
[068] Introduction to the Components of the Framework
[069] Simple and Composite Units
[070] Components
[071] The Role of Variables and Guiding Questions within Components
[072] Honesty
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An inventory of parts is useless; we must understand the life that flows between them. Symbiosis provides the essential logic for diagnosing the health of these relationships. We must learn to distinguish Sustainable Relations—Mutualism [+,+] , Commensalism [+,=] , and the illusion of Neutralism [=,=] —from the corrosive Unsustainable Relations. These destructive dynamics include Parasitism [+,-] (like the "kleptoparasitism" of cultural appropriation ) and Amensalism [-,=]. The Four Mottos provide the crucial evaluative compass for this diagnosis, with Ethics as the non-negotiable foundation.
[073] Symbiosis, The Logic of Interdependence
[074] A Practical Typology for Design Analysis
[075] Sustainable Relations
[076] Mutualism [+,+]
[077］Commensalism ［+,=]
[078］ Neutralism ［=,=］
[079] Unsustainable Relations
[080] Parasitism [+,-]
[081］Amensalism ［-,=]
[082] Competition [-,-]
[083] The Evaluative Compass: The Four Mottos as Criteria
[084] The Dynamic Arrow of Time
[085] A New Logic for Design
Articulating the Framework
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This framework was not invented in isolation; it gradually emerged through a journey spanning theory, immersive observation, and global dialogue. It began by wrestling with the elusive nature of "design" and "sustainability" , a path that led inexorably to biology and the transformative concept of Autopoiesis. My doctoral research confirmed the hypothesis: design itself operates as a dynamic, self-producing autopoietic system. This theoretical core was then stress-tested in the "living laboratory" of the World Design Capital® Valencia 2022. Finally, it was forged through collaborative dialogue, which integrated the Four Mottos and revealed Time as a fundamental, enveloping constant.
[086] A Journey Through Inquiry, Observation, and Dialogue
[087) Design as an Epistemological Object
[088] The Methodological Journey
[089] Questioning Design's Foundations
[090] The Turn to Biology: Discovering Autopoiesis
[091] The Doctoral Deep Dive
[092] From Theory to the World Stage Validation in Valencia
[093] Collaborative Refinement
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We can no longer afford the comfortable illusion that design is a neutral tool ; it is always world-making. This framework therefore establishes Ethics not as an add-on, but as the foundational cornerstone upon which all else is built. This ethic is defined as the pursuit of collective flourishing, or Eudaimonia , and pragmatically grounded in Manfred Max-Neef's Fundamental Human Needs. This non-negotiable compass guides the interconnected mottos of Sustainability, Social Responsibility, and Economics. This demands we embrace epistemic justice , actively integrating plural perspectives from feminist, Indigenous, decolonial, and intersectional thought.
(094) Expanding the Vision
(095) Ethies • The Foundational Cornerstone for Embracing Plurality
[096] Sustainability - Across Time, Species, and Justice
[097) Social Responsibility - An Ethical Commitment to Well-being
(098) Economics - An Ethical Pursuit of Shared Needs Fulfillment
[099] Towards Conscientious, Liberatory, and Symbiotic Design Practice
Components
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We must affirm that the Human Component is the absolute cornerstone of design, the referential sine qua non asking "Who?". Design is not an abstract mechanism but an intrinsically human act , rooted in our unique agency for intentional creation, or heteropoiesis. This component is the very locus where the Four Mottos are enacted through human ethical reasoning. We must analyze this "Who?" across its dimensions: the Core (the Designer and Community) , the Frontier (Clients and Manufacturers) , and the Environment (the Users and Communities impacted by our work). This requires grappling with the complex variables of human experience—Physical, Cognitive, Emotional, Social, and Gender.
[100] Referential (Who?)
[101] Alignment with the Four Mottos
(102] Autopoletic Significance of the Human Component
[103] Humans Dimensions
[104] Core Dimension
[105) Frontier Dimension
[106] Environment Dimension
[107) Variables Influencing the Human Component
[108] The Influence of Time on the Human Component
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The commission is the crucial moment of emergence, the "Why?" that ignites the design process, transforming latent potential into a call for intervention. It is rarely a static brief but a dynamic question , demanding constant critical inquiry to avoid the trap of brilliantly answering the wrong question. Whether arising externally from market needs or societal crises , or internally from a designer's self-commissioning agency, it frames the challenge. This frame inevitably encounters friction at the frontier , necessitating skillful negotiation. Ultimately, the commission mediates between vision, constraints, and ethical responsibility , demanding we probe the underlying "Why?" through the lens of the Four Mottos.
[109] Emergence (Why?)
[110] Alignment with the Four Mottos
[111] Autopoletic Significance of Commission Component
[112] Commissions Dimensions
[113] Core Dimension
[114] Frontier Dimension
[115] Environment Dimension
[116] Variables influencing the Commission Component
[117] The Influence of Time on the Commission Component
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Observation is not passive reception but an active, cybernetic engagement, the "Based on what?" that grounds design in enacted reality. Embracing a second-order perspective (Maturana & Varela) , we recognize that "anything said is said by an observer" ; we co-create the world through the distinctions we make. Observation thus becomes a continuous feedback loop—observe, act, reflect—requiring disciplined curiosity and introspection to surface our own biases. We must deploy diverse variables (Quantitative, Qualitative, Sensitive, Representational) , often through facilitated dialogue , and engage in systemic learning to move beyond superficiality towards the deep, empathetic understanding necessary for responsible intervention.
[118] Cybernetics (Based on what?)
[119] Alignment with the Four Mottos
[120] Autopoietic Significance of Observations Component
[121] Observations Dimensions
[122] Core Dimension
[123] Frontier Dimension
[124] Environment Dimension
[125] Variables influencing the Observations Component
[126] The Influence of Time on the Observations Component
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We must recognize procedures as the crucial "How?"—the structured yet adaptable methodologies that translate intention into reality, forming the very engine of execution. This "designerly" craft , evolving through practice and reflection (Design Ethnoevolution) , must integrate the Four Mottos into its core. Procedures navigate complexity, balancing structure with the flexibility needed for wicked problems. We must distinguish these rigorous, research-based methods from the superficiality of glorified "Pseudo-Design" and engage respectfully with the deep wisdom embedded in vernacular "Proto-Design". Ultimately, the choice of procedure is itself a critical design decision, shaping outcomes and reflecting the discipline's autopoietic self-production.
[127] Operative (How?)
[128] Alignment with the Four Mottos
[129] Autopoietic Significance of Procedures Component
[130] Dimensions
[131] Core Dimension
[132] Frontier Dimension
[133] Environment Dimension
[134] Variables
[135] The Influence of Time on the Procedures Component
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We cannot address the wicked problems of our era alone; the Partners component ("With Whom?") embodies design's fundamentally collective nature. This dynamic web of collaboration is the primary channel for design's structural coupling with its environment, fueling its autopoiesis. Choosing partners becomes a significant political act , demanding we move beyond extractive relationships toward genuine co-creation and egalitarian models that honor a pluriverse of knowledge. We must distinguish between disciplinary depth and the necessary integration found in inter- and trans-disciplinary work. Crucially, this requires expanding our view beyond the human, recognizing Nature itself as a mentor, stakeholder, and co-creator.
[136] Collective (With whom?)
[137] Alignment with the Four Mottos
[138] Autopoietic Significance of Partners Component
[139] Dimensions
[140] Core Dimension
[141] Frontier Dimension
[142] Environment Dimension
[143] Variables
[144] The Influence of Time on the Partners Component
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We must acknowledge that technology is never neutral; it is the very substrate, the tangible and intangible "With What?", through which design manifests intent. This co-constitutive relationship shatters the simplistic Aristotelian divide between passive matter and imposed form ; materials themselves are "in-formed" , active participants carrying information , demanding a deep literacy and dialogue. While the design discipline sustains itself autopoietically , its outputs—artifacts, interfaces, systems—are fundamentally allopoietic , yet these creations become the vital "words" in the discipline's ongoing self-production. Ultimately, the choice of "With What?" becomes a profound ethical and political act within the Capitalocene , demanding we prioritize regenerative potential over extractive logic.
[145] Building Blocks (With What?)
[146] Alignment with the Four Mottos
[147] Autopoietic Significance of the Technological Component
[148] Dimensions
[149] Core Dimension
[150] Frontier Dimension
[151] Environment Dimension
[152] Variables
[153] The Influence of Time on the Technological Component
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We deceive ourselves if we view outcomes merely as endpoints; they are the tangible manifestation, the "What?", embodying the interplay of all preceding components and choices. Critiques like Carson's "Silent Spring" or Leonard's "Story of Stuff" force us to see outcomes not as discrete products, but as powerful agents of systemic change, demanding accountability for their full lifecycle and often-hidden consequences. They serve as the primary measure of a design's success against the Four Mottos , yet also function as critical learning artifacts in an iterative feedback loop. We must be vigilant against the pervasive threat of "greenwashing" , where superficial claims mask a failure to embed genuine ethical and sustainable principles into the very fabric of the outcome.
[154] Our creations (What?)
[155] Alignment with the Four Mottos
[156] Autopoietic Significance of Outcomes Component
[157] Dimensions
[158] Core Dimension
[159] Frontier Dimension
[160] Environment Dimension
[161] Variables
[162] The Influence of Time on the Outcomes Component
[163] From Anatomy to Action.
The SDF in Action
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We must understand that the Symbiotic Design Framework is not a method; it is a mindset, a stance. It demands we shift our focus from isolated things to the quality of relationships unfolding over time. Anchored by Time as medium, Environment as active participant, and Symbiosis as analytic , it compels us to cultivate conditions rather than chase control. Using an adapted Bronfenbrenner hierarchy (Micro- to Exosystem) helps scale our relational analysis within the Chronosystem. Practice unfolds through Four Concurrent Events—Situating, Diagnosis, Intervention, Calibration —requiring constant vigilance guided by the Four Mottos. This distinguishes the internal Symbiotic Designer from the External Adopter translating the lens to other fields.
[164] The Symbiotic Mindset
[165] A Conceptualization of Scale and Hierarchy
[166] A System of Four Concurrent Events
[167] Roles in a Collaborative Ecosystems
[168] A Foundational Distinction
[169] The Symbiotic Designer
[170] The External Adopter
[171] The Collaborative Ecosystem: Essential Partners in Creation
[172] The SDF in Education.
[173] The SDF in Research
[174] The Framework in Summation
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This is not a conclusion; it is a handover. The framework demands you adopt a stance: practice epistemic humility , refuse the illusion of one world , engage in real dialogue across difference , and stay with what you change through long-term stewardship. Adhere relentlessly to the ethical compass: Ethics first, then Sustainability, Social Responsibility, and Economics. Treat the relationship as the core unit of design , diagnosing its quality (mutualism to parasitism). Engage the Four Concurrent Events (Situating, Diagnosis, Intervention, Stewardship) not as steps, but as a constant cadence. If you are a Designer, guard this worldview; if an External Adopter, translate faithfully, keeping the ethical spine intact.
After the Book A Stance, Not a Method The Compass
Time as Medium
The Unit: Relationship
Monday's Cadence
To Practitioners
Begin Where You Stand
The Academy
A Closing Ask and a Promise
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A list of 231 relevant terms and concepts as understood in the SDF
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Over 161 examples and 35 of them with images
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A list of 177 relevant authors and thinkers as cited in the book