Should we re-frame Sustainable Interaction Design? Towards a more holistic sustainability “in designing”

This essay presents the findings of an exploratory literature review on the evolution of Sustainable Interaction Design (SID). Historically, SID has referred to Blevis’s principles of "sustainability through design", related to behavioural change, and "sustainability in design", with a predominant focus on environmental sustainability. However, a significant paradigm shift in the field urges to encompass a third "sus- tainability in designing" dimension, related more to the design process as emphasised by scholars, now offering methodological guidelines to create sustainable interactions. The study proposes an updated frame of SID starting from its first definitions. Secondly, if environmental sustainability remains crucial, it is no longer considered - by scholars - sufficient to advance sustainable development goals without incorporating the social-economic dimensions. By bridging the gap between SID’s principles, this paper reflects upon how holistically involving these additional dimensions in multiple design process stages will contribute to addressing environmental quality alongside social equity and economic prosperity.