From Imaginaries to Practices: Cultivating Care in Future-Making through Design

Irem’s doctoral research investigates how prioritizing care ethics in future-oriented design practices can help organizations envision futures that reach beyond short-term, technology-driven goals. In an era of increasing societal and environmental precariousness, she argues that designers could play a crucial role in fostering systemic change by making care central to their practices. Through ethnographic fieldwork, her research identifies a shift within both policy and industry toward centering innovation efforts around pressing societal and environmental challenges, revealing opportunities to embed care ethics in the long-term visions of technology organizations. The dissertation culminates in a care-informed framework for future-making, equipping design practitioners to cultivate approaches grounded in care ethics that support the flourishing of livable futures.

Irem Tekogul is a designer and Fulbright doctoral scholar working at the intersection of systemic change, care ethics, and design futures. With experience in both academic and industry contexts, she focuses on embedding care ethics into future-making practices, enabling design practitioners to foster care-informed approaches for addressing complex societal challenges. Currently a researcher at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Irem collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to address infrastructure challenges and inform policy-making at both city and national levels. She holds an MA in Product Design from NABA Milano and a BSc in Industrial Design from Istanbul Technical University.

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