As part of our spotlight for the Sustainable Design MA Show, we spoke with one of our students, Koshe Salihy, whose final project explores the intersection of systemic design, cultural heritage, and digital futures. Their work challenges conventional narratives and offers a poetic, multidimensional approach to sustainable design.
My influences
“I am a designer and design researcher interested in applying cybernetics and systemic design to sustainable textiles, cultural heritage, and digital futures. My ideas align with interconnected, nonlinear mapping and frameworks, and I am critical of linear models in these industries. I have a background in textile consultancy and hold a first degree in Textiles with a focus on Business Studies. My work spans sustainability, Web3, and activism, seeking to facilitate sustainable change through systemic design in material innovation and cultural preservation.
“For my project, I designed the Epistemic Narratives Matrix (ENM), a historiographical framework intended to sustain a pluriverse of archival histories by weaving principles of sustainable design into its structure. Rejecting linear, positivist notions of fixed truths, the ENM embraces an autopoietic mode of knowledge making that is fluid, honest, transparent, poetic, and relational.
“Where narratives are continually reimagined through inclusive and ethical engagement, it unfolds across three interlaced layers:
- the ontological layer – which reclaims suppressed voices through myth, meaning-making, and symbolic inquiry;
- the epistemic layer – which exposes and reshapes the constructions of knowledge through radical honesty and transparency;
- the Relational Layer – which centres the co-creation of stories between humans, artefacts, and audiences through ethical, aesthetic, and dialogical encounters.
“Together, these layers transform historiography into a living system that sustains narrative multiplicity rather than seeking singular, definitive accounts.
“One of the outcomes of this project is an ebook called “Me, You And History”, which illustrates how to implement the ENM framework when engaged with an archival artefact. The book focuses on a photograph of a Kurdish Baliki man from the front book cover of Wilfred Thesiger’s “A Vanished World”. Exploring a plural narrative of the artefact through the voices of Kurdish artists, poets, and writers.”
Why I chose Brighton
“I’ve been interested in sustainable textiles and alternative materials for over a decade, but I wanted to take my work further, to understand how design can truly contribute to a sustainable future across the industries I care about. The Sustainable Design MA offered me the opportunity to do just that, and more.”
Transformative learning moments
“Some of the most powerful moments during my studies were when I felt lost and unsure how to move my ideas forward. It was in those moments that my professors challenged me to break open my static design approach and dive deeply into theory and concept. That process transformed my perspective and awakened a richer understanding of what it means to design for truly sustainable environments and futures.”
Mentorship That Matters
“I am profoundly grateful to my esteemed professors, Dr. Sally Sutherland and Dr. Tom Ainsworth, whose guidance throughout the course reshaped my trajectory as both a designer and a thinker. Their patience, insight, and intellectual generosity fostered a renewed devotion to design and design research, one that continues to shape and sustain my scholarly and creative practice.”
Looking Ahead
“While I’m still refining my focus, I plan to pursue a PhD in applying cybernetics and systemic design to sustainable design, focusing on either cultural Identity or alternative textile materials.”
Explore the Sustainable Design MA Show
Join us in celebrating the diverse and critical work of our students, and discover how design can be a transformative force for sustainability, culture, and systemic change. Book a place to our private view.
Interested in studying Sustainable Design MA at Brighton – head over to our website for more information.
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