Post-Growth Innovation Practice: Techno-empathetic and critical insights from Mindful Design Studio

Success in the 20th century was measured through the prism of unceasing progress. Such dynamics shaped a specific type of population: a hyper-society, which is the result of “multiplying innovation by increased activity, speed of communication, and social interpellations.” Unfortunately, innovation, which defines the hyper-human, seen from the perspective of ecological economics, blindly echoes the idea of economic growth, which leads us to so-called creative destruction. It is a negative force that has separated us from nature, making us fatter, sadder, and more tired. Therefore, there is an urgent need to redefine the concept of successful innovation—a need to revise innovation as a paradigm based on the idea of productivity and profit. The tool to fulfil this mission can be design, which is today considered the most important factor of economic and cultural exchange. Hacking the growth-oriented image of design, the author associates it with post-growth innovation, strongly related to ethics, the environment, and society. She presents the activities of the Mindful Design Studio (MDS) of the Wroclaw Design Academy, an interdisciplinary platform with an experimental approach that combines design, simple interactive technologies, and socio-ecological awareness. The main catalyst here is techno-empathy, as well as design as a kind of speculative fiction, expressing disapproval of consumer reality, referring to mindfulness, critique, fiction, and prototyping of the future. The studio believes in the potential of unconventional imaginaries for technological innovation. Rather than reinforcing the traditional nodes between progress and economic growth, prototypes from MDS demonstrate how innovation can be oriented toward supporting collective well-being, environmental responsibility, and more inclusive forms of techno-engagement. Such an approach not only critiques conventional growth-oriented innovation but also envisions creative constructions of integrating technology into society that prioritize care, reflection, and sustainability.