The fifth issue of Design Enquiry calls attention to things that might not be quite as they first appear. Perhaps nowhere do we encounter this more clearly than through the claws and fluffy pink paws of Kesiah Ide’s article, which explores the cute, the kitsch and the crap in the context of gender and craft. Elsewhere in the issue we find other approaches to theorising feminism and gender, through Olivia Chapman’s article exploring connections between contemporary social media and the new rise of misogyny they fuel, and Maddie Kort’s that unpicks the relationship between the construction of the graphic design canon and the reproduction of a contemporary design industry full of inequalities.

Dancing on through the issue, we encounter Elena Greenway’s text that explores the 20th century jazz clubs of New York and London in an analysis of drug addiction and creative work that will get the dopamine receptors firing. From the past to the present, Lily Mackinnon’s article unpacks problems facing grassroots music venues in London, gentrification, and what design can do about it! In Ted Hawthorn’s article we travel to Trieste and employ the methods of psychogeography to wander the streets and reveal the complexity of our relationship with the environment around us. Then, from the outside we turn to the ‘outsider’ with Shangda Li and a reappraisal of the 1970’s idea of ‘Art Brut’ through filmmaking.

Tackling the thorny question of representation, Gemma Tucker’s article takes us down the caff to ask questions about working-class artists and designers in Britain, and what exactly is, or could be, working-class art and design? Led by our noses and the smells of incense and cumin, we Nikita Basra’s article that thinks through the role scent plays in constructing identity and memories for South Asian migrants. Exploring a related context, Iman Naqvi’s article examines South Asian methods of interpreting and archiving dreams. Wiktoria Płoskonka’s article explores cultural hybridity, asking questions about how bicultural experiences might inform design practices that are, themselves, interested in complex engagement with visual cultures.

Switching off and powering down, we explore – with Lily McCardle – the evolving role that data plays within systems of governance and control. Valinnie Castro article unpicks the impact that social media has had on the way Gen Z builds community, through the example of knitting and crochet practices. Continuing this focus, Honey Poland explore’s the wardrobe – and what it’s contents might reveal about the way that we construct ourselves, and how an environment of capitalist consumption shapes this process.

This issue highlights a concern with the relationship and image itself, and the technological infrastructure that captures and disseminates that image, beginning with Jade Slater’s exploration of the ways in which personal cameras – like the one on your phone – have changed the role of photography. Willem Hayes’ article picks up similar ideas and examines the image through the blurry lens of technology and visual storytelling. Finally, Nathan Priest’s article searches for the origins of our distrust in photography, taking us on a journey from Nessie to AI.

Together, the texts in this issue remind us to look beyond the surface and to engage deeply and critically with the complexity of ideas, practices and happenings that we encounter.

Our fourth issue of Design Enquiry reminds us that design is located in the world beyond our practice, shaping individuals, communities, and our understanding of the natural world. It features an article on the experience of being left-handed in a right-handed world, and how the design of objects reflects this bias (among others); while another speaks to the reading experiences of people with dyslexia and how these might be addressed within typographic practice – each advocating for accessibility and inclusive design practices.

Two powerful explorations of racism within the design field examine the ongoing marginalisation of Black designers within the industry; and ask how ‘white supremacy’ and a lack of representation operates within the design world. Rethinking and challenging simplistic notions of identity and the self, another article presents a particular concern for the omissions of “hyphenated individuals” within institutional archives.

An article on time and utility within capitalism reminds us of the need to slow down, to “reunite with materiality” (not just screens), and reclaim time. Returning to the theme of time, elsewhere we are invited to think about memory and nostalgia as something we might fear the political abuses of, as well as celebrate. Finally, we are asked to consider how images might bridge the divide between human and non-human worlds; inviting us to think of such images “as a beacon, guiding us back to an understanding of our intrinsic relationship with the natural world”.

Through these reflections, we are encouraged to see design as a force that not only shapes objects but also redefines our relationships with each other and the world around us.

In this third volume, the use of satire and humour to expose injustice and corruption is traced from Hogarth to Private Eye and beyond, demonstrating its enduring relevance. Reality and unreality as mediated through technology, recurs in a meditation on AI and the question of whether we are (already), living in a simulation. The politics of ownership, appropriation and role of the image, are critically examined in relation to both digital and analogue contexts.

The anger which stems from marginalisation is explored through the lens(es) of race, gender, and queerness, with an intersectional analysis that addresses the production and effects of such oppression head-on. A fictional guide to life on a new planet uses the literary form of science fiction to explore and transport us to this imagined world. An investigation of queerness and ‘nature’ proposes that we are all connected, challenging the dominant heteronormative paradigms of society, and posing a ‘queer ecology’ as an alternative. Elsewhere neoliberalism and capitalism are scrutinized through a ‘Situationist’ lens, and finally, a celebration and critique of the ‘tropes’ of fandom closes out the volume.

Collectively, these pieces invite us to rethink power, identity, and society through the transformative lens of design and critique.

Our second volume of Design Enquiry explores alternative and creative forms of writing, stretching our understanding of the essay form. These experiments include a script on what is and isn’t ‘real’, in four parts; an ‘interview’ exploring the manipulative effect of film on society; and an ode to the (death of), the Avant Garde.

Elsewhere, an article critiques the divisive language used to enforce a ‘hostile environment’, calling for ‘migrant justice’ to shift the terms of the debate. Another essay explores the politics and aesthetics of subcultures, linking music, clothing and design to class. The persistent power of storytelling and fiction is revealed through the ‘literary patterns’ and forms of books, while the fairytales (and horror stories) of modern dating apps are recounted.

Each of these pieces, in different ways, ask whether design can be used as a tool for social change, through different uses of language, image and interaction.

Our first group of authors explore a wide range of subjects, from the loss of human dignity entailed by so-called ‘emotional’ AI systems, to the politics of self-care during Covid (and as a counter to capitalist cultural forms). They have written about how technology and spiritualism can deepen our understanding of contemporary technologies, and the influence of Black hair culture and its representations on screen.

One article examines how new forms of ‘knowing’ through multisensory experiences might enhance understanding within archives and education, while another reflects on fractal patterns and the unconscious mind. A final article examines new, utopian visions of the world, prompted by an optimistic view of how we might emerge from the pandemic into a future shaped by arts and culture, with a more collective and hopeful outlook – imagining (and enacting) a new kind of politics in the process.

Together, these pieces offer fresh perspectives on how design can shape our understanding of society, culture, and the future.