Systemic Design Labs at RSD14: key moments and emerging connections

The 2025 edition of “RSD – Relating Systems Thinking and Design” conference has wrapped up its hybrid programme, which unfolded from 3–22 October with the in-person component hosted at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada. This year’s theme, “ARCS OF IMPACT – RELATIONALITY IN COMPLEXITY” provided a wide range of presentations and exchanges. The combination of physical and online participation once again enabled broad engagement from the global systemic design community.

Throughout the conference, Systemic Design Labs ⎟ ETH Zurich (SDL) was consistently visible through diverse contributions. A central highlight was the plenary keynote delivered by Dr. Tobias Luthe, head of SDL and DRRS Program Director. His talk, “(Non)Intervening in Complexity: The Navigational Wheel of Inquiry,” introduced a relational framework for understanding how systemic designers (non)intervene in complex contexts. The keynote resonated across sessions where participants discussed relational methods and the cultivation of systemic sensibilities. Here is a recap of this plenary talk.

Complementing these conceptual explorations, Sylwia Orczykowska, DRRS Communication and Art Designer, led the Art & Quantum Social Transformation Lab. Her session offered an experiential angle that brought quantum-inspired artistic processes into focus as tools for supporting behavioural and social transformation. This contribution strengthened the presence of science-based artistic inquiry within the conference and attracted significant interest from both design practitioners and researchers.

Further enriching SDL’s visibility were contributions from DRRS CAS alumni Arushi Shukla and Igor Jimenez, who shared updates on their evolving QUESTs. Their work demonstrated how systemic design training becomes embedded in ongoing professional practice and inquiry. The current CAS participant, Willow Gatewood participated onsite at OCAD University, engaging in community-building and expanding collaborative networks through dialogue and exchange.

Overall, RSD14 offered an important platform for SDL to contribute perspectives, share emerging practices, and remain actively engaged in the expanding discourse surrounding systemic design. The event reinforced the relevance of relational approaches and highlighted the multiple ways in which SDL’s work continues to intersect with and shape developments in the field.