Design Might Be the Key to Saving Our Ocean
By Nick Scappaticci, Big Dreams
Why should a conference about the ocean be hosted by design? It’s a question that might catch you off guard. You expect to hear from scientists, academics, policymakers, and inventors at ocean conferences. At trade shows, you meet innovators showcasing their latest creations or investors scouting the next big breakthrough. But what role does design play in all of this? The answer: everything.
While scientists, policymakers, and inventors bring vital expertise and groundbreaking technologies, it’s design that translates these insights into meaningful, impactful solutions. Design does not just observe and analyze — it asks the "what if" questions that disrupt the status quo and reimagine the future.
Design is more than aesthetics. It is a strategic, problem-solving process that can synthesize disparate ideas, people, and technologies. In the digital age, where data has become the material of innovation, designers are uniquely positioned to shape that material into solutions that are effective but also accessible, ethical, and human-centered. Possibility Ocean is where design meets the ocean, using data, technology, and creativity to forge a new narrative that sees our ocean not just as a resource to be managed, but as a partner in our shared future.
Data: The New Miracle Material?
Not too long ago, plastic was touted as a “miracle material.” Flexible and inexpensive to produce, it rapidly transformed just about every industry. Today we’ve come to see it as one of the most harmful substances for our ocean.
In this digital age, ocean data is a new sort of miracle material. From the movements of waves to the slightest temperature changes to the migration of whales, this data tells us so much about the ocean’s health. Thanks to accelerating bluetech innovation, this data is easier to gather than ever, but what do we do with it once we have it? This is where design comes in.
Design is not just a job to be done—it is a way of viewing and acting in the world. We learn new materials by experimenting and asking questions. We envision the possibilities and bring empathy to the process, imagining how our work can improve lives in the immediate and distant futures.
We don’t yet know the forms ocean data can take or how best to harness it, but we can learn by making, experimenting, and iterating. Beyond finding the right forms for these technologies, it’s about understanding their relevance and potential impact in the broader context of greater good and sustainable progress. By engaging with ocean data through design, we can reveal new possibilities, refine their application, and ensure that these technologies drive meaningful change for our ocean and society.
OCEAN-centered Design TO RENEW THE PLANET
Perhaps you’ve heard of human-centered design, a process of problem-solving that focuses on human needs benefits. To counter the ways human activity has radically reshaped Earth, we want to work from a ocean-centered perspective, one that asks us to consider our planet as a whole, remember our place in the greater ecosystem, and treat all life as key stakeholders. In a time of exponential challenges, we need to look beyond the immediate needs of humanity and create with the whole world in mind. And to do this work, we need to see the ocean not as a victim to rescue, but as our partner in a sustainable and regenerative world.
Our goal at Possibility Ocean is to overcome fragmentation and serve as cross-disciplinary translators for the blue economy. We will continue working together to create a cohesive dialogue among diverse stakeholders, including technologists, policymakers, investors, scientists, innovators and conservationists. As designers, we bring empathy, storytelling, questioning, and learning through creativity.
Through deliberate, thoughtful design strategies, we can protect our ocean and ensure it continues to support life on Earth for generations to come. The art of the possible is a simple strategy: Immerse, Make, Learn, Repeat—paving the way for a future where our ocean can thrive in harmony with human progress.