This weekend, our Design Principal, Alex Cascarano, joined the first 21st Europe summit at Elisava School of Design and Engineering, Barcelona, a unique moment to reflect on today’s complexities and the role of design in shaping Europe’s future. We’ve always believed that design isn’t just about enabling complex systems but actively shaping them. Now more than ever, it’s time to move beyond theory and take conscious action, designing not just products and services, but the very systems that define how we live. The design community often risks staying in a bubble, but today’s geopolitical challenges demand real engagement. This summit reinforced the urgency of acting as citizens, using design to imagine and build better futures.
More than ever, I realize I’m living inside a bubble, and I increasingly feel the need to move from words to action—to be an active agent of change rather than a passive observer. Driven by this feeling, on Saturday I took a train to Barcelona, specifically to Elisava School of Design and Engineering to attend the first 21st Europe summit, the think tank founded by the super kind Kaave Pour. It was an inspiring moment to reflect on the complex state of the world and envision the role Europe could play in shaping it. Many of us feel the urgency to contribute positively as citizens, leveraging our nature as designers. Iris Cuppen from Bakken & Bæck introduced us to the first Blueprint, sharing the origins of the Starline provocation—a blue train designed to connect Europe. I don’t yet know where this journey will take us, but I agree with Ed Catmull: the future is not a destination, but a direction. And this train has already left the station. #21steurope #europe #design
