Product Design in the Desert Common: Methods and Practice

Approximately 13% of the land area of the United States is protected in some way by formal designations through state or federal government. Each designation implicates specific forms of management and interaction with ecological systems and community members. Current strategies rely on a complex network of NGO’s, government bodies, and Sovereign Tribes, often with disparate or contrasting needs, values, and desires. This paper will discuss a platform in design education that finds common ground for these groups to collaborate through design research and practices. Design methodologies organize and mediate this complexity and foster free exchange of ideas, knowledge, and values. The platform is unique in that it moves beyond traditional science partnerships, and seeks to mediate the divide between academic and community scholarship. This paper will discuss methods of the studio for commoning design in public lands.