Sensemaking as Practice

Abstract

Design Studio IV: Strategic Design – SDG Futures for Madrid is a collective project book documenting student research, strategic interventions, and reflective learning from the Bachelor in Design (Year 4) and Bachelor in Design and Business (Year 5) at IE University.

This book brings together collective strategic design projects developed over a 15-week intensive studio focused on addressing complex societal, environmental, and urban challenges in Madrid. Rather than treating the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as abstract targets, students localized them into Madrid’s situated, place-based realities—ranging from urban heat mitigation in Puerta del Sol and Vallecas to Latinx community engagement, university sexual harassment prevention, overconsumption, and rural-urban transitions.

Using a combination of systems thinking, ethnographic inquiry, speculative futures methods, and transition-oriented design, the studio reframes social and ecological problems to propose strategic interventions capable of shifting relationships, narratives, and local governance structures toward 2030 and beyond.

In addition to group project proposals, the publication incorporates excerpts from students' personal Strategic Bitácoras (reflective journals), capturing their internal learning process, ethical dilemmas, decision-making frameworks, and evolving positioning as emerging strategic designers.