Save Design Thinking
What will it take to save Design Thinking? And why does it matter? Here are some thoughts.
While we all know design thinking is a valuable problem-solving approach, enabling individuals and teams to tackle complex challenges and create innovative solutions, it has not been used extensively to solve the world’s most urgent problems.
What if for example, we could harness design thinking principles not just to create products and services that meet user needs but also to serve the pressing needs of society, and contribute to the Common Good?
That is the principle behind the Wicked7 Project, a open-collaboration initiative I’ve been involved with since its inception – as a member of the working group.
Our approach on the Wicked 7 Project was to apply design thinking principles in a collaborative and interdisciplinary way to map out the world’s biggest problems. Here’s the thinking we used:
The wicked seven are the seven key components of an “ecosystem of wicked problems”:
The Death of Nature: the interlinked global crisis of environmental impacts and weather-related events — heat waves, forest fires, flooding, hurricanes, ecosystem degradation and collapse, pollution, and species extinction.
Inequality: the various forms of inequality — economic, social, and workplace inequality is a way to measure social and gender inequality. The growing gap between the 1% and the rest of the population creates an unequal and unjust society.
Hate & Conflict: the growing intolerance and hate fueled by racism, sexism, and extremism. Includes identity-based or ideological groups which create social unrest and commit acts of terror. Conflict includes militarism, the culture of war, armies, arms-profits, policies, plans, propaganda, prejudices, and rationalizations that lead to lethal group conflict.
Power & Corruption: the abuse of power—individual and systemic. Dishonest conduct by those in power or those seeking to influence them. Includes fraud and bribery. Corruption creates a system that governs not for the many, but for the few.
Work and Technology: the future of work, data and surveillance. The growing digital divide, digital monopolies and exploitation. Includes the use of media to create false narratives for politics and profit. Robots and automation and the policies to govern the “intelligent” economy.
Health and Livelihood: the worldwide challenge of public wellbeing – economic and physical health. Includes the economy, employment, education, and the new skills and capabilities required to “make a living.”
Population & Migration: the domestic and global population growth leads to increased conflicts over water, energy, food, open space, transportation, and schooling. Carrying capacity, the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation – becomes a key metric for local and national wellbeing. Also includes the growing problem of refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from the “Global South.”
The project is almost over, and we are currently putting together the “map of maps” – a comprehensive map of how the world’s problems are interconnected.
As designers we often lose focus on creating value for both customers and the wider ecosystem. I strongly believe designers can embrace regenerative principles by designing products and services that promote regeneration, sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical practices. My participation in the Wicked7 project was one way to understand this. Now, I seek to bring this regenerative perspective to all my work.