A series of research projects by the authors has supported an understanding of a new type of design practice geared towards ensuring a safer relationship between people and technologies in a number of contexts including rapidly changing dynamic environments. Here we report on the research methods, tools and approaches that were created and adapted for investigating what emerged as a new approach for design in dealing with human behaviours and complex relations between physical and digital technologies. In particular these methods were used to research across both applied and strategic focus areas ranging from saving lives at sea to a future safety foresight review. A particular consideration was to ask whether current design principles and practices were adequate in order to tackle mature and emerging design for safety risks from local to global levels. Our methods emerged across a series of projects in a grand challenge and a foresight review. The first aimed to tackle loss of life at sea while the foresight review investigated the more specific strategic interdisciplinary role of design in tackling major future global risks. We report here on the thinking involved in developing the methods, how these were adapted and changed throughout the process and report on findings at key stages alongside insights from the data captured. The results from this research have been significant in helping to frame what may become a new approach to design practice, one that is capable of enabling change for increasing safety through new methods, practices, ethics and cultures.

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