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Systems Play

Art, Design and the Future of Humankind
By Danielle Barrios-O’Neill
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Brief Description
Systems Play: Art, Design and the Future of Humankind explores how contemporary artists and designers are reimagining the world in an age defined by complexity, uncertainty, and systemic interdependence. The book argues that the most compelling creative practices today engage in systems play, strategies that work... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$6999
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Releases 30th December 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Systems Play" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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Systems Play reveals how contemporary art and design use play to navigate complexity and uncertainty in interconnected systems. Through vivid case studies, it showcases how contemporary artists expand perception and offer blueprints for a more adaptable and humane world. 49 col. illus.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Systems Play: Art, Design and the Future of Humankind explores how contemporary artists and designers are reimagining the world in an age defined by complexity, uncertainty, and systemic interdependence. The book argues that the most compelling creative practices today engage in systems play, strategies that work with emergent patterns, multiplicity, and interconnection to make large-scale systems more legible and more open to change.

It offers an engaging look at how systems play and speculative design can illuminate social challenges and support collective action for the good of humans, animals, and plants. Idea-driven rather than practical, it presents a rich set of multidisciplinary examples that will inspire researchers and artists alike.

Through richly illustrated case studies across fields such as speculative design, immersive installation, and interactive media, it examines how creative work can: expand human perception beyond biological limits; challenge anthropocentric assumptions; reconceive personhood as relational and distributed; rethink family, community, and care as dynamic systems; and reframe our experience of time. Each chapter situates these practices within broader cultural, technological, and ecological contexts, showing how they resist reductive narratives and open space for alternative futures.

Blending critical theory with accessible storytelling, Systems Play positions experimental art and design as more than cultural commentary, providing intellectual and practical blueprints for navigating complexity. It is both a survey of emergent creative approaches and a call to take their insights seriously as tools for reimagining our shared, uncertain world.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781835953389

Publisher: Intellect

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 August 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Intellect Books

Illustration: 49 Illustrations, color

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 150.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 168

Collections

Arts & Culture Danielle Barrios-O’Neill Education & Reference Non-Fiction Non-Fiction Pre-Orders Pre-order Books Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date

About the Author

Dr. Danielle Barrios-O’Neill is a Reader in Immersive Art and Design at the Royal College of Art. Her research background is in immersive and playful design, especially how play can help us make sense of the complex systems we inhabit. She has created experiences and research in game simulation, extended reality, documentary and street games, designing interactive encounters designed to make large-scale systems legible, and to show that they are changeable. Her work has been published widely in academic journals, and she regularly collaborates with colleagues in the public and private sector on projects on design and education, with an eye on better futures. At the core of her work is a belief that art and design will help us save the world.

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