JLW

Goals

To develop and study tools—including card-based design prompts, biomaterial explorations, material archives, and hands-on workshops—that support how learners navigate complex design challenges and imagine alternative, more sustainable futures.

 

This work explores how design research, sustainability, futures thinking, critical making, and material exploration can be integrated across undergraduate education, K–12 learning environments, and public-facing public pedagogy workshops.

 

At its core, FutureCraft investigates how scaffolded tools and embodied making practices shape the ways participants think about materials, systems, technologies, environmental impact, and the role of design in shaping future worlds.

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Project Overview

FutureCraft is an evolving research, teaching, and public pedagogy initiative centered around the development of tools and learning experiences that support sustainability-focused design exploration.

 

The project combines:

• card-based design scaffolds

• biomaterial experimentation

• speculative and futures-oriented design activities

• hands-on workshops

• material archives

• and reflective making practices

 

Together, these approaches aim to help learners engage with complex systems, environmental challenges, material lifecycles, and future-oriented design questions through direct interaction with materials, technologies, and creative processes.

 

FutureCraft currently spans:

• undergraduate design education

• K–12 STEAM learning environments

• public workshops and conference programming

• and interdisciplinary sustainability-focused collaborations.

 

Tools + Scaffolding

A central focus of FutureCraft is the development of tools that support how people think through design—not simply what they design.

 

These include:

 

FutureCraft / Critical Footwear Futures Cards

A card-based toolkit introducing alternative design lenses and prompts connected to:

• sustainability

• biomaterial practices

• systems thinking

• speculative futures

• function

• ethics

• circularity

• repair

• and regenerative thinking

 

Biomaterial Explorations + Workshops

Hands-on activities focused on:

• biomaterial recipes

• post-consumer waste reuse

• sustainable fabrication methods

• material experimentation

• and exploratory prototyping

 

Participants engage directly with materials such as:

• algae-based materials

• gelatin bioplastics

• recycled plastics

• recycled paper pulp

• natural pigments

• organic additives

• and biodegradable material systems.

 

FutureCraft Materials Library

An evolving archive of biomaterial and sustainable material experiments developed through FutureCraft workshops and coursework. Learn more about it on the Blog.

 

The library functions as:

• a tactile teaching resource

• a documentation archive

• a reflection tool

• and a growing collection of material investigations connected to sustainability and future material imaginaries.

 

The first version of the library was launched through GD 105 — Prototyping at Chapman University, where students developed experimental material samples and custom laser-cut archive cards documenting recipes, processes, ingredients, and observations.

 

Guided Design Activities + Reflective Prompts

Structured discussions and workshop activities that support:

• critical reflection

• systems thinking

• speculative exploration

• collaborative inquiry

• and navigation of complex “wicked” design problems.

 

Together, these tools support navigation of complex interdisciplinary design spaces

• expand how participants frame problems and possibilities

• provide tangible entry points into abstract concepts

• support reflection through making

• encourage engagement with sustainability and material lifecycles

• foster futures thinking and speculative exploration

• and develop forms of sustainability and “green skills” increasingly needed within the creative industries.

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FutureCraft tools and workshops have been integrated across multiple contexts, including:

 

Undergraduate Design Education

Courses focused on:

• prototyping

• design research

• speculative design

• sustainability

• and interaction design

 

K–12 + STEAM Learning Environments

Including collaborations connected to:

• wearable design

• sustainability education

• biomaterial experimentation

• and future-oriented design challenges.

 

Public Pedagogy + Workshops

Hands-on workshops presented through:

• conferences

• museums

• makerspaces

• community learning environments

• and interdisciplinary educational events.

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Outcomes + Insights

• Forthcoming

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Status + Ongoing Work

This project is currently in progress, with planning for new activities and partnerships currently ongoing.

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• refinement of the FutureCraft card deck and associated workshops

• development of biomaterial-focused learning kits 

• preparation of making resources used in public pedagogy workshops

• preparation of publications and conference submissions

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Publications + Dissemination

• Publications Forthcoming

• Free Access to Critical Footwear Futures Cards

• Blog on Physical Materials Library with free physical located in person at Chapman University