We are entering a new geological era: the anthropocene, in which human activity is a dominant influence on earth's geology and environment. At Dutch Design Week, a special edition of our Good Design for a Bad World series will ask if design can harness this phenomenon to prevent global catastrophe, writes Marcus Fairs. More
Can design tackle the really big problems facing the world? Or is design helping to cause these problems? Below you can watch all five talks held by Dezeen and Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven from 21 and 22 October 2017, and find links to the write-ups of each. More
Designers can influence politicians by proposing "10,000 little steps" to improve the world, according to speakers at our final Good Design for a Bad World talk at Dutch Design Week. More
A new generation of sustainably minded designers is pioneering ways of using recycled plastic as a raw material, as concern over pollution increases. More
Eco-minded designers have admitted to feeling guilty about creating products that help deplete resources and cause pollution at our Good Design for a Bad World talks in Eindhoven. More
Designers can't solve real-world problems on their own, according to designer Bernhard Lenger, whose latest project sees creatives team up with human-rights defenders to develop tools for change. More
Scent and coloured lights could be used to reduce aggression in city streets, according to a crowd-behaviour expert who spoke at Dezeen's talk about design and terrorism at Dutch Design Week 2017. More
Designers are working harder than ever to create projects with a social and environmental conscience, according to the curator of an exhibition about "changemakers" at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Here's a look at seven figures leading the charge. More
What were the key themes that emerged at Dutch Design Week 2017? We asked six graduates on Design Academy Eindhoven's design writing masters course to give their takes in essay form. Their answers include gigantism, post-humanism and absurdism, the latter exemplified by cushions based on Kim Kardashian's "butt-selfies". More
Intimacy is an "urgent topic" for designers to address in the light of revelations about sexual harassment in Hollywood and elsewhere, according to the curator of an exhibition held at Dutch Design Week. More
Designers should stop proposing gimmicky solutions to the refugee crisis such as shelters, apps and emergency clothing, according to speakers at our Good Design for a Bad World talk at Dutch Design Week. More
Designers could revolutionise the health sector by helping patients take greater control of treatments, according to the curator of an exhibition at this year's Dutch Design Week. More
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Basse Stittgen has used blood leftover from the meat industry to create a collection of small objects. More
Dutch designers Eric Klarenbeek and Maartje Dros have developed a bioplastic made from algae, which they believe could completely replace synthetic plastics over time. More
The production and consumption of food needs to be radically rethought if we are to feed the world's population, according to designer Marije Vogelzang. More
This captioned movie features the venue for Dezeen's Good Design for a Bad World talks at Dutch Design Week – a pavilion designed by Bureau SLA and Overtreders W, which was built using only borrowed and recycled materials. More
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Mark Henning has created an experimental toolkit for testing and training the perfect handshake, which he imagines being used in an immigration office. More
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Soyoun Kim wants to encourage more interaction between the citizens of North Korea and South Korea, by creating a series of architectural structures along the border. More
Designers have the power to solve the world's problems, but it may mean creating more systems and less stuff, says Dutch designer and environmentalist Babette Porcelijn. More
The products that designers help create are the biggest contributors to climate change, according to research presented at our Good Design for a Bad World talks at Dutch Design Week last month. More