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Let's talk about design

Dorenda Britten - Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Rapid change, volatility in markets, globalisation and increased reactivity of companies are aspects of our organisational worlds that create a pin-ball effect that is difficult to escape. The temptation is to seek and implement short-term solutions to relieve the immediate pressure, rather than making real change that delivers lasting results. This reaction often sees us failing big and slow, rather than small and fast. Small and fast allows us to put our experience to work and move on.

So let’s keep things simple – but how?

By using design as a process rather than limited to an end result or product, we can tackle even the most challenging of circumstances. Design provides a framework to aid creativity and encourage innovation that can be shared. Such a framework not only welcomes new ideas but helps to evaluate ideas fairly, no matter how radical or ‘left field’ they may appear.

Making a commitment to simplicity can be threatening for some. For those who feel blessed with the ability to comprehend complexity, simplicity has the potential to shake the very foundations upon which they have made themselves indispensable. For many people, their ability to comprehend complexity is a measure of self worth. Simplicity strips this from them and potentially exposes real shortfalls in their intellectual capacity or expertise.

To add to the problem, society often pays homage to those individuals who have constructed worlds that are so complex that they could not possibly be explained to mere mortals. Apparently complexity can make things more valuable. If a job is considered simple, does it deserve to be paid well? It may well be far more lucrative for the job to be seen to be complex!

In our society complexity provides a way to demonstrate value and a place to hide. It allows us to avoid making decisions about priorities. We may also tend to keep things complex by default because we don’t understand something enough or because we are afraid of being wrong. We cover all bases by introducing more complexity into the discussion or process because to be simple is far more challenging.

To achieve simplicity, all contributions of ideas, both our own and other peoples, need to be expressed and fairly evaluated. We need to develop a high degree of trust in a group to be able to achieve openness and a well understood and consistent evaluation process helps to make tough decisions.

Design processes will rapidly become recognised globally for their potential to grapple with, and help to solve, tomorrow’s sticky problems. Design thinking is no longer optional. It will permeate every aspect of our lives. New Zealand must choose to be ahead of the game and can begin by enrolling all organisational people in this discussion – not just “designers”.

There are few people who can think critically or constructively about the future. Most of us, without realising it are reacting to past events or what is happening at this very minute. Ideas that will shape our future needs must engage more people in a manageable way. New Zealand companies and organisations need to start addressing the processes by which they achieve results with intent rather by accident. It is time to get things done “by design”.

Despite the view we have of ourselves, we find that New Zealand is not a leader but a follower in the field of design thinking. For this reason, designindustry is committed to enrolling as many people as possible in the process of talking about design in order to understand how we can make this work for all of us. We need to consider:

• A personal framework for thinking enables each of us to evaluate ideas BUT asks the question, what framework do we have for evaluating shared ideas?
• Design might provide the way but meets a lot of resistance in this a-traditional role
• Design thinking is no longer optional. It will permeate every aspect of our lives. New Zealand must choose to be ahead of the game
• Why has designindustry chosen to promote more communication about design?
• We think design is more than just about “designers”
• New Zealand needs to enrol all organisational people in this discussion
• Leaving things to chance or to others doesn’t produce outcomes that are suited to the problem. If we are to be a nation of lab-rats for international companies, then why not turn this to our advantage?
• There are few people who can think critically or constructively about the future. Most just react to past events or what is happening at this minute. Ideas that will shape our future needs must engage more people
• Unfortunately, it is easier to criticise something already done than commit to creating something of value from scratch
• There is much resistance to inviting diverse people to contribute to a design process as this is often considered to be ‘design by committee’ and many organisations prefer a structure of unilateral decision making from the top down
• It is time to be honest with ourselves. New Zealand is not a leader but a follower in the field of design thinking
• Therefore, it is time that our companies and organisations started to address the processes by which they achieved results with intent rather by accident. It is time to get things done “by design”

comments

Anonymous commented on 16-Mar-2009 06:10 PM

The comments are spot on. Without a design process a number of problems arise. One is simply a problem of too much trial and error, something we can decreasingly afford as the world reaches tipping points in resource availablility and climate related changes. Then there is the need to consider multiple required outcomes simultaneously or sometimes a solution for one problem will create another problem elsewhere. We have many examples of that such situation such as the biofuels/food debate. Not considering climate change and fossil fuel depletion in tandem is probably one of the most scary scenarios we could encounter. Increasingly we recognise that systems rather than individual processes govern the world. So a design process which ensures all the issues are examined up-front before trying to find solutions is essential. There are frameworks which can assist in this process, one available in New Zealand is the Natural Step which leads us through a logical thinking process which can be adapted to any situation. Design is applicable to all aspects of our life.

Anonymous commented on 16-Mar-2009 06:11 PM

I know more about finance, but to me design and budgeting are very similar, If you do not have a budget financially, you have no guide as to what to change to correct possible errors, similarly without a design you have no idea what your end product will look like, whether it be an object, machine, or a business so you must have design and budgets.

Anonymous commented on 16-Mar-2009 06:11 PM

Thanks for your insights Dorenda, as usual they are provoking and on the mark. I have a particular affinity to the comment in bullet-point #9, which I like to express as "Its easy to be a critic but where are the authors!" The main thrust about complexity is real and the simplest ideas are usually the best, complexity in the form of hard to copy features or sophistocation of manufacturing techniques were a barrier to competitors in past times but today you just have to be smarter quicker and more frequently and that does not happen by chance, but by design.

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