Lo-Tek: Design by Radical Indigenism

With a foreword by anthropologist Wade Davis and four chapters spanning Mountains, Forests, Deserts, and Wetlands, this book explores thousands of years of human wisdom and ingenuity from 18 countries including Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, India, and Indonesia. We rediscover an ancient mythology in a contemporary context, radicalizing the spirit of human nature.

J. Paul Neeley

J. Paul is a London based designer and researcher with expertise in Speculative Design, Service Design, Design Research, and Strategy.

All author's posts
Gemma Jones

Interdisciplinary cultural researcher and strategist specialising in semiotics and futures thinking

All author's posts

December 17, 2020

Three hundred years ago, intellectuals of the European Enlightenment constructed a mythology of technology. Influenced by a confluence of humanism, colonialism, and racism, this mythology ignored local wisdom and indigenous innovation, deeming it primitive. Today, we have slowly come to realize that the legacy of this mythology is haunting us. Designers understand the urgency of reducing humanity's negative environmental impact, yet perpetuate the same mythology of technology that relies on exploiting nature. Responding to climate change by building hard infrastructures and favoring high-tech homogenous design, we are ignoring millennia-old knowledge of how to live in symbiosis with nature. Without implementing soft systems that use biodiversity as a building block, designs remain inherently unsustainable.Lo-TEK, derived from Traditional Ecological Knowledge, is a cumulative body of multigenerational knowledge, practices, and beliefs, countering the idea that indigenous innovation is primitive and exists isolated from technology. It is sophisticated and designed to sustainably work with complex ecosystems. With a foreword by anthropologist Wade Davis and four chapters spanning Mountains, Forests, Deserts, and Wetlands, this book explores thousands of years of human wisdom and ingenuity from 18 countries including Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Kenya, Iran, Iraq, India, and Indonesia. We rediscover an ancient mythology in a contemporary context, radicalizing the spirit of human nature.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watson-Lo-TEK-Design-Radical-Indigenism/dp/3836578182

Featured Courses
Further Reading
Speculative Design Examples
Speculative Design goes beyond solving current problems, focusing instead on what could happen in the future. It uses design as a tool to create scenarios, products, and services that question current trends and explore the implications of emerging technologies, societal changes, and environmental challenges. Let’s look at some compelling speculative design examples that illustrate the depth and diversity of the approach.
June 19, 2024
Speculative Design vs. Design Fiction
"What is the difference between Speculative Design and Design Fiction?" – This is a question that invites us into a nuanced exploration of two closely related, yet distinct, fields within the broader umbrella of futures design. Both fields are concerned with the future and both employ imagination and creativity to explore possibilities beyond the constraints of current reality. However, their approaches, objectives, and methodologies reveal subtle differences.
June 19, 2024