The energy transition is not only a technological challenge; it is a social, cultural and systemic transformation. While technological solutions and knowledge are increasingly available, it is social innovation that ultimately determines whether the transition succeeds. However, within this domain, the role of design and creative capacity as a driver of change remains underexplored; while it is precisely this that accelerates transformation.
Design is not just about form or aesthetics. It is a way of thinking and working that connects systems, people and environments. Designers, artists, architects and creative thinkers bring the ability to translate complexity into tangible, human-centered solutions, enabling new forms of collaboration, ownership and imagination.
This Creative x Energy theme positions design power as a crucial accelerator within social innovation. It explores how creativity, imagination and nature can guide the transition toward more inclusive, desirable and regenerative energy systems - systems that people understand, trust and actively want to be part of.
Across three sessions, designers, artists, architects, researchers, policymakers and energy innovators explore how design can reshape the energy transition:
1. Power to the People: Who owns the Energy Transition? Rethinking ownership, governance and collaboration through participatory and design-led approaches.
2. A Beautiful Energy Future Exploring how design can create energy systems that people recognise, trust and feel proud of - from infrastructure to everyday experience.
3. Energy Systems Inspired by Nature (interactive session)Learning from ecosystems to design decentralised, adaptive and regenerative energy systems, through an interactive ‘nature principles lab’ format.
Together, these sessions offer a new perspective on the future energy system - one in which technology only works when it is socially supported, culturally embedded and intentionally designed. By embracing design as a core capability, we move beyond solving technical problems and start shaping energy systems that truly work for people, place and planet.