Design for Emergencies

Abstract

The recent health crisis and the phenomena linked to environmental upheavals have aroused great interest in the theme of emergency and the need to systematise it.The “Design for Emergency”, not yet well defined and in continuous evolution within the scientific discipline of Design, is today at the centre of the cultural debate to find a more precise definition, limits and possibilities, good practices and necessary interdisciplinary relations.After an initial introduction to the topic, the essay intends to define and discuss, through selected case studies, the design’s contribution within critical contexts, through the reinterpretation of two terms, the “cycle” and the “wave”, discussed in the essay “Designing in the Post-COVID Era” (2021) by M. Bianchini, P. Bolzan and S. Maffei [1].The two terms, used by the authors to describe a range of phenomena, would influence differently the actions, methods and design strategies aimed at developing innovative and effective solutions and products to cope with emergency conditions.