GREENLAND: A Modern Life

Design Research, Digital, Publication Design & Speculative Design Workshops

GREENLAND: A Modern Life is a research-led publication and speculative design teaching framework developed to support design students at RMIT University in developing their understanding of design thinking, building contextual awareness, critical observation skills, and future-facing thinking. Beginning with an accidental encounter via Google Street View, the project is complemented by a collection of texts from Greenlandic and Nordic academics, and documents everyday life across contemporary Greenland, and uses this material as a foundation for speculative design workshops, world-building, and reflection through design.

SERVICES

Art Direction
Design Research
Digital
Education
Graphic Design
Illustration
Imagemaking
Print
Publication Design
Speculative Design
Workshop
Website Design & UI

The initial aim behind this project was to develop an art book utilising alternative image making techniques, but soon grew into the creation of an educational resource that acts as a starting point to introduce students to design thinking and speculative design through a real-world context. The book, and the project as a whole avoids the clichés of tourism, futurism, or technological spectacle – evident through the imagery featured throughout the book, and the workshops prioritise thinking and making free from technology. The project itself needed to balance visual documentation, critical research, and structure, allowing students to engage with complex social, cultural, environmental, and political themes through observation rather than assumption.

This project was developed as a system, where each part was built on the foundations of what came before. First, a hardcover publication, combining Google Street View imagery with selected texts on Greenlandic society, modernity, urban life, governance, and climate. This was followed by six speculative design workshops aligned with stages of the design thinking process, using Greenland as a shared contextual playground. Lastly, a digital portal to house the research, workshop materials, and student reflections was created, allowing the project to grow across each cohort.

GREENLAND: A Modern Life functions as a research artefact, teaching tool, and as a photo book exploring alternative image-making. It has been used to support design studios within the Bachelor of Communication Design at RMIT University, helping students develop empathy, frame complex problems, and explore speculative futures grounded in present-day realities. The project encourages slower modes of seeing, critical engagement with context, and an understanding of design as a way of thinking, not just making.

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