The Bad New Times is a research outcome in graphic design situated within research-through-design (Frayling, 1993; Mazé, 2007). The project investigates how varable, generative book design systems can function as research methodologies for examining contemporary socio-ecological conditions, particularly the interrelations between class, technological change and environmental precarity.

The work takes the form of a generative daily newspaper in which every printed page of every copy is materially unique. Each edition assembles original 365 headlines drawn from a custom-built combinatorial system capable of producing more than 17 billion unique socio-political, technological and ecological scenarios. Through this system the publication explores how graphic design might communicate and demonstrate socio-ecological complexity without reducing it to singular narratives or solution-oriented futures.

The research combines speculative design methods (Dunne & Raby, 2013) with combinatorial and open-form artistic strategies (Eco; Balestrini; Mari) and eco-social design traditions (Papanek, Boehnert). Methodologically, the project integrates rule-based language generation, typographic system design and variable print production within a documented design protocol. The combinatorial grammar was iteratively developed and constrained to test how linguistic, graphic and layout parameters influence the formation and perception of socio-ecological narratives. Generated outputs were comparatively analysed to evaluate how variability and recombination shape meaning across editions.

Multiple data banks of words were fed into a trained GPT bot that produced multiple randomisation outputs (365 per iteration). These were transferred into adobe indesign custom layouts through the data merge function and used custom image, kerning and spacing scripts. Each file can be exported (eg as pdf or printed sheets).

The publication therefore functions both as a design artefact and as an experimental research system. The originality of the project lies in applying generative and combinatorial design systems to book publishing as a method for modelling socio-ecological scenarios within graphic design research. Its significance lies in demonstrating how graphic design can operate as a speculative research practice capable of communicating complex socio-ecological relations beyond conventional informational or solution-driven design approaches. The rigour of the research is evidenced through the development and testing of rule-based generative systems, iterative prototyping, documented design protocols, and contextual analysis grounded in design and literary research traditions.

The publication includes a referenced critical essay that situates the project within speculative, combinatorial, and eco-social design traditions and documents its methodological framework.

A representative edition of the generative publication system (scripts, layout files, datahseets, tests, selected combinations) is deposited here on RADAR and GitHub as documentation of the design protocol and combinatorial structure of the work.

Prototypes were publicly presented as research at Central Saint Martins in 2023 and will be further disseminated through an exhibition at New Glasgow Society on 16 July 2026, publisher submissions, and workshops that generate engagement and impact.

The project outcomes will be further disseminated through a public exhibition at New Glasgow Society, 16–18 July.