Blue Thinking: Human-Centered Design for Sustainability and the Blue Economy in Education

This paper introduces Blue Thinking, an integrative framework combining human and activity-centered design with sustainability education and the blue economy. Developed within the Blue Design Alliance (BDA) - a consortium led by College of Art and Design (ESAD) in Portugal and supported by the national Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) - the framework reconceptualises water as a material and epistemic medium, symbolizing adaptability, interdependence and systemic flow across human-technology-ecosystem relations. Methodologically, the study employs research-through-design and project-based learning across 36 interdisciplinary short courses (delivered from 2022 until 2025). Mixed data sources - observations, interviews and institutional metrics on enrolment, completion, satisfaction, and sustainability integration - provide our evidence base. Four representative case studies demonstrate the framework’s application: Editorial Design for Community Contexts (communication and identity), Interior Design for Nautical Environments (adaptive spatial intelligence), Food Design for Sustainability (ethical and sensory literacy), and Illustration and Digital Narratives (ecological communication). Results reveal measurable improvements in students’ systems thinking, ecological literacy, and technological self-efficacy. Findings indicate that intelligent systems augment rather than replace human judgment, enhancing decision-making in design. Blue Thinking thus operates as a model of augmented-intelligence learning, linking creativity, ethics, and technology within sustainability-oriented design pedagogy. Aligned with European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) sustainability frameworks, Blue Thinking positions higher education as a catalyst for systemic change, preparing designers to act as agents of ecological transition, social inclusion, and circular innovation.