The Polycene Design Manual is an attempt to articulate a design standard to negotiate "big picture" systemic challenges like health care, education, and climate change.

This draft design manual is an archive of essays, activities, and project outcomes that have emerged from Horizon 2045 and RISD Center for Complexity’s exploration of the Polycene — our proposed framing for an aspirational geological epoch where stewardship replaces dominion, and mastery is redefined as a balanced coexistence with the natural world. It encourages a multiplicity of approaches, ethical considerations, and community engagements to address the complex challenges we face in what we’ve termed the ‘polycrisis’.

The project is funded by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The Skoll Foundation, under phase 2 of Horizon 2045.

^{Strategic Design, Foresight, Planetary Futures, Decoloniality}