In “Issue Five, Climate Realities and Responses,” we reflect on the biggest design challenge of all: the climate crisis and its compounding reverberations.

The perils of a changing climate are not approaching—they are here, and, in the words of contributor Rania Ghosn, “whole worlds have already ended, sometimes multiple times over.” Yet there is so much left to fight for if we can come together to rethink the systems that connect us both to our planet and to one another, and if we can face that a stable, habitable climate on earth is no longer the presumed backdrop for our imaginations. On our cover, we honor marine biologist, policy expert, and writer Ayana Elizabeth Johnson who, in an interview with guest editor Mark Chambers, helps us picture and commit to a climate future in which survival is not only possible, but an enticing invitation to which we are all called to respond.  

The contributors to our fifth issue include: Alyssa-Amor Gibbons, Antariksha Studio, Kyle Babb, Jillian Barthold, Mark Chambers, Kent Chan, Houston Cypress, Michael DeForge, Isabel Flower, Rania Ghosn, Jeff Goodell, Nu Goteh, Alice Grandoit-Šutka, Althea James, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Leen Katrib, Leila Khoury, Aidan Koch, Joycelyn Longdon, Kathy Baughman McLeod, Christopher Rey Pérez, Avinash Persaud, Naymuzzaman Prince, Guarionex Rodriguez, Jr., AbdouMaliq Simone, Lily Consuelo Saporta Tagiuri, and Leah Thomas.

Deem is printed by Hemlock Printers in Canada on FSC® Certified 130lb Sterling Premium Gloss White Cover FSC® Mix Paper & 70lb Lynx Opaque Smooth Text FSC® Mixed Paper and typeset in Roobert and ITC Cheltenham.