Globalization, Digitalization,

who would have thought that human nature would have a major impact on design today.? how humans control the environment through tools, to how high heeled shoes affect the natural ways of walking. I recently came across an article by Dori Tunstall on Design Anthropology. She says

"Anthropology is engaged with issues of the global flows of people and goods, human rights and social justice, global feminism, technology adoption, the social effects of the environmental degradation, and local sustainability practices—all issues that have become important to designers."

However when it comes to the relationship with designers, Anthropologists look into "how to better communicate their insights to wider society". She says "The focus of design anthropology is on connecting the process of design to the meanings and functions designed artifacts have for people". For example, how developing technologies can lead to social So what specific issues does it address that relate to design???

H. Russell Bernard, the leading authority on anthropological research methods, describes four problem areas of anthropology:

1. The nature-nurture problem (ex. Is it biology or environment that causes humans to respond to something in a particular way?)
2. The evolution problem (ex. How do things expand and change over time?)
3. The internal-external problem (ex. What are the ways in which behaviors are influenced by values or environmental conditions?)
4. The social facts or emergent properties problem (ex. How are people influenced by social forces that emerge from the interaction of humans, but which transcend individuals?)

I like the fact that design anthropology can help a designer like me to feel more confident when it comes to understanding the aftermath of past, present and future global communication, artifacts, .