Daily life now looks like this: A dental lab advertises for recruits with the slogan “Come join our team,” while a newly elected US president signs decrees to withdraw his country from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization and terminate countless diversity-affirming programs. That’s a total of 80 executive orders—and that was only his first day in office. But what has all that got to do with design, with the beautiful things in life? Well, design has long amounted to more than the sum of products or spaces. It is an effective tool for bringing people together and shaping communities. Particularly in times of accelerated change, overshadowed by disruptive digitalization, thought bubbles, and new forms of personal isolation, design goes far beyond the visible. It is social glue. Design helps to shape the framework within which community can grow and develop.
But how exactly does that work? And what responsibility lies with the discipline itself? These questions were debated by the mcbw Advisory Board, a high-caliber panel of experts.
Providing impetus and advice
Advisory board of the mcbw
The mcbw Advisory Board supports bayern design by providing impetus and advice on key strategic issues. Its members address current trends in design and economic, social, and cultural phenomena, while serving as brand ambassadors for mcbw. From left to right: Dr. Dewi Schönbeck, Managing Director Steelcase GmbH, Boris Kochan, President Deutscher Designtag, Hannes Ziesler, Head of Design Identity BMW Group (representing Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design), Prof. Dr. Angelika Nollert, Director Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, Prof. Markus Frenzl, Vice Dean and Director of dci, Design Faculty at Munich University of Applied Sciences.
Opening up spaces
“sure!” came the unequivocal answer: “Community can be designed by creating framework conditions.” Those conditions can be events in which community can find itself and see itself reflected; organizations and structures; but also very practical physical objects, like a round table where participants came together in the round to form a discussion community. “If we all sat at individual desks, that community wouldn’t exist.”
Physical design is thus augmented by an organizational, structural level that holds sway over the dynamism of every community: “design focuses on more than what is visible;” it creates invisible layers that forge vibrant, living places. Let’s call it “atmosphere” and “opportunities for social interaction”—subtle elements that make environments tangible and understandable, and unconsciously shape the people in them. They include elements such as directional lighting and flexible tables in workspaces or conference rooms, adjustable chairs, and different zones for different needs that enable people to interact on equal footing. The result is the absolute opposite of a hierarchical structure. Ideally, smart design supports the specific needs of the location. Design is an active process that fosters encounter and dialogue by encompassing physical, social, and cultural parameters. It is therefore a crucial part of building community, creating scope for action in both mental and physical, spatial terms.
Activities connect
Major events such as the Olympic Games are an impressive demonstration of the speed at which community can be built. The last Summer Olympics in Paris delivered clear evidence of how design can create a sense of belonging: Everything from the color palette and typeface to the various event formats combined to spark a special atmosphere that brought people together—not only in an ad hoc community of athletes and spectators, but as a genuine community of people with widely diverse backgrounds and ideas, cultures, and visions. Paris established a cultural legacy. We can generally posit that design is open and inclusive; an example would be the DIN-SPEC standard for easy-read German, which was devised with the participation of designers and aimed at simplifying participation and changing perspectives. “design is not a process for society, but with society.” In every case—urban mobility, inclusion, workplace design—belonging is primarily established by co-creating. Instead of merely offering outside-in or top-down cookie-cutter solutions, designers need to adopt an integrative approach and constantly incorporate other perspectives.
Far from being an isolated, standalone discipline, design is a context-dependent method of shaping society. In this respect, it differs from art; while art may often be subjective, design always operates within social relations and thus creates the foundations for community itself, as a close and direct connection between people. Community design is rooted in local contexts and local needs. The fundamental pillars of any design decision are empathy, diversity and inclusion, resulting in spaces and structures that both involve and value individuals.
Community – lived and breathed
The advance of digitalization poses a challenge. Online platforms and social media are proof that communities can also be created virtually, albeit often with problematic features of thought bubbles and algorithmic isolation. Given this, design needs to throw open digital spaces and usher in dialogue and diversity. As technological change makes patently clear, the focus is now no longer on artefacts alone, but on sociofacts: social contexts and relations that are shaped by technological systems.
Design bears an enormous responsibility for creating community and strengthening social structures. From interior design and digital platforms to large-scale events, every area contains the potential for design to positively shape our coexistence. Community emerges wherever design intersects with empathy, diversity, and participation. And therein lies enormous opportunity.
The article on mcbw Advisory Board also appears in mcbw magazine 2025