The Anti-Brief
Rewriting the Brief:
Societal Design for a world
that makes sense
Deadlines for applications
Students who need a study visa: until 8 May 2026
Students who do not need a study visa: until 4 September 2026
More information here: How To Apply
This website is a boundary object with many functions. Firstly, it forms the structure of a collaborative book. Each chapter is also a module of the Societal Design Master Degree Programme at Elisava, Barcelona. The questions and associated texts serve as the course literature for the students and teachers. By holding space for the diverse perspectives of the Societal Design learning community it is also an evolving artefact. Together we are exploring how this relational form of design can play a meaningful role in societal change.
The concept of Boundary objects was introduced by Susan Leigh Star and James R. Griesemer in a 1989 publication (p. 393): Boundary objects are objects which are both plastic enough to adapt to local needs and constraints of the several parties employing them, yet robust enough to maintain a common identity across sites. They are weakly structured in common use, and become strongly structured in individual-site use. They may be abstract or concrete. They have different meanings in different social worlds but their structure is common enough to more than one world to make them recognizable, a means of translation. The creation and management of boundary objects is key in developing and maintaining coherence across intersecting social worlds.
The Anti-Brief book is an invitation to live the questions. We have asked each teacher to share a text or image in response to the questions that we will explore together in the Master. We also asked them to briefly explain their personal relationship to their chosen resource, why they feel it is relevant and any questions they would like our students to consider. Learning, like life, is a flow. Where and how you join this story is up to you.
Chapter 1
Design Activism
—
How can we activate
in the spaces where we have influence?
Develop a shared understanding of the urgent need for societal design. We will learn from prominent designers and systems thinkers to ground the Master in the foundational work of those pioneers.
Lecturers: Bryan Boyer, Indy Johar, Georgia Cameron, Superdot, Silvio Lorusso, Oliver Vodeb
1.1 What do terms like polycrisis, metacrisis or wicked problems mean for designers?
1.2 What does a Systems View of Life feel like?
1.3 How can we design with the Planet in mind?
Chapter 2
Designing Dialogues
—
What happens when we shift
from flexible to contextual design?
Progress your practical skills and practice applying tools and relational design approaches for real-world applications.
Lecturers: Mitch Paone, Manda Scott, Apolline Roger, Lupi Asensio, Gurden Batra, Tim Rodenbröker
2.1 What are conversational dimensions?
2.2 What are the languages of contextual design?
2.3 How can we design respectful, generative dialogues?
Contribution by Tim Rodenbröker
Contribution by Apolline Roger
Contribution by Humzah Khan
Contribution by Adam Islaam
Chapter 3
Collaborative Design
—
How can we listen to the system and visualise what we hear?
Get hands-on experience of designing processes and structures that foster collaboration and lead organisations toward innovative, life-centric goals.
Lecturers: Linnéa Rönquist, Luna Maurer, Richard Niessen, Simon Höher, Vlad Afanasiev, Annette Dhami
3.1 Why map a system?
3.2 What can we learn from interdisciplinary case studies?
3.3 What can design bring to collaborative workspaces?
Contribution by Nathalia Del Moral
Contribution by Richard Niessen
Chapter 4
Design Entrepreneurship
—
How do we move beyond commissions and towards collaborative partnerships?
Explore how designers can be an integrated part of business development and strategy. You will learn about the Anti-Brief Framework and practice applying it to gain buy-in from clients for alternative societal design briefs.
Lecturers: Oliver Vodeb, Apolline Roger, Indy Johar, Louise Kjellerup Roper, Ruben Pater, Adrian Shaughnessy, Nathalia Del Morales Fleury, Elio Salichs
4.1 Can we reframe cognitive dissonance as a superpower?
4.2 What would a design brief say in a world that made sense?
4.3 How can designers be creatively strategic?
Chapter 5
Final Master Project
—
If not now then when, if not us then who?
In your final project you will use design as a strategic tool to provoke societal change. Your strategy might manifest as a design artefact, like a website, a publication, a campaign, an event, an object or a space, but it could also be a curatorial proposal or an academic program. Starting from a topic that sparks your personal interest we will guide you to consolidate your learning and develop an inspirational project that demonstrates your future potential.