Research, Insight and New Writing on Trust and Design

Throughout 2011, Trust Design is partnering with Volume Magazine to publish a series of focused studies of the relationship between trust, design and its connection to various design fields, issues, and areas of social importance. So far, Trust Design has published collections of research, interviews and writing on the following topics:

 Aging

From social issues resulting from an aging population to the physical dilemma of aging infrastructure, design is a vital tool in our response to aging. Studies have also shown that sociologically, trust declines with age, yet, paradoxically, trust in the objects, systems and spaces we use increases with time, even though the effects of age might be making them less trustworthy. Featuring essays on Planned Obsolescence, Aging and Brands, The Long Now Foundation, and work by Design Academy Eindhoven.

The Internet of Things

How can a challenging and complex issue such as trust be supported or eroded in a world of networked objects and data-enabled devices?

We often talk about “building” trust in the things we buy and the systems and spaces we use. What are the risks, opportunities and rewards when these objects, systems and areas become data spaces and virtual services? Featuring essays and interviews with Bruce Sterling, Kevin Kelly, Joost Grootens, and others.

Still to come in 2011...

Faith

“Faith is trust,” a religious scholar notes in the introduction to the issue. Faith and trust are the underpinnings of almost all our sociological and personal constructs, yet both are allusive and largely intangible qualities. What role does faith have in our relationship with design? Can the mechanisms of faith be used to enable trust through design? Apple has created an almost quasi-religion around its products through design, while contemporary faith-based organisations are turning to design as a way to increase and strengthen their role in society.

Privatisation

The world is experiencing a wave of privatisation. As state-controlled systems, services and structures are handed over to private companies, does our trust in these systems follow? Or has our trust in the state been so eroded that privatisation is an opportunity to re-create and re-build our trust? What are the ingredients and mechanisms for designing trust in these systems?