Towards a more resonant design practice
The project explores the entanglement between design and nature, and between humans and designed objects. The project grew from Lier’s experiences as a furniture designer in the international design industry, recognising she was more interested in the human-object ‘intra-actions’ (Barad 2007) than in creating profitable products for mass production. This interest, together with her concern for the state of the Earth, created a dissonance and a desire to find ways for her design practice to align with her values.

Lier revisits her past practice to identify valued aspects and sources of friction. She articulates these as conditions she wants to expand on, reorient, or break with to become a resonant designer. This marks the beginning of a series of practice experiments within the PhD project. Disobedience (breaking with) and entanglement (immersion in) are the key concepts guiding the process, focusing on two topics:

1. Design’s relationship to waste and (over)consumption

2. Design used as a tool to tame nature and humans.

Lier invites the hammer into the process, both as a cultural prop she reflects on, and as a companion she reflects with. She also welcomes people to engage with her research through exhibitions, workshops, and other events.

The project belongs to the expanded design field, viewing design as a liberal art rather than a science (Buchanan 1992). It relates to discursive design (Tharp and Tharp 2018) by emphasising design as a tool for reflection and relationship-building rather than for utility. Lier is part of a community shifting from human-centred to more-than-human-centred design (Coulton and Lindley 2019).

The artistic outcome
The artistic outcome was presented in an exhibition at KMD in September 2025, featuring an installation and three publications: ‘Human Object – a disobedient pathway towards a more resonant design practice’ (the reflection), ‘The Hammer’ and ‘Na(cul)ture’.

Supervisors are Dóra Ísleifsdóttir, former Professor of Visual Communication at Iceland University of the Arts (2012 – 2017) and University of Bergen (2017 – 2023), and Julia Lohmann, Professor of Practice in Contemporary Design at Aalto University.

The public defence is open to the public- Welcome!