Rick Poynor at DesignThinkers 2008
A review of lectures and panels at the DesignThinkers conference, October 26, 2008, by Yen Trinh, Student at the Institute without Boundaries
“DesignThinkers” is an annual conference organized by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD Ontario). The conference clearly targeted a membership of graphic designers, but by definition, “design thinkers” are actually far more interdisciplinary. I gravitated to the talks about sustainability and was pleased to find myself listening to many “non-graphic designers” from the world of architecture, industrial and interior design.
The day started with a lecture by British design critic Rick Poynor who defined and critiqued “design thinking.” This now popular term refers to the strategy, process and approach to problem solving (design). The RGD Design Thinkers conference brochure used the following definition from the June 2008 issue of the Harvard Business Review:
“Design Thinking, a methodology that imbues the full spectrum of innovation activities with a human-centered design ethos… Innovation is powered by a thorough understanding, through direct observation, of what people want and need in their lives and what they like or dislike about the way particular products are made, packaged, marketed, sold and supported.”
Leaders in the field of design thinking include the D.School at Stanford University, Tim Brown and his firm IDEO, Bruce Nussbaum, Michael Beirut and Victor Lombardi. Poynor admitted there were many definitions to the term, but referenced Victor Lombardi who outlines the following attributes of design thinking on his blog:
“1. Collaborative, especially with others having different and complimentary experience, to generate better work and form agreement
2. Abductive, inventing new options to find new and better solutions to new problems
3. Experimental, building prototypes and posing hypotheses, testing them, and iterating this activity to find what works and what doesn’t work to manage risk
4. Personal, considering the unique context of each problem and the people involved
5. Integrative, perceiving an entire system and its linkages
6. Interpretive, devising how to frame the problem and judge the possible solutions”
Poynor explained that design thinking is a relatively new term that has gained popularity, especially in the past 4 years. While it is something designers have probably always been doing, it is a term that has been picked up by the world of business as a way to drive innovation and profits, a key point in Poynor’s presentation. Poynor offered the interesting critique that while design thinking may boast about interdisciplinary and human-centric design, it is currently too immersed in the business world. He suggested that the term is now being used as a motivation to drive brands and corporations rather than “good design.” It seemed to me that Poynor was hinting that what “green washing” (the misrepresentation of environmental practices or environmental benefits of a product or service) is doing to sustainability, “design thinking” is doing to good design and innovation.
Poynor was not the only one to delve into the world of business. Further examples during the other talks* showed that the nexus between business and design is both unavoidable and powerful:
1) The Green Panel was a multi-disciplinary discussion by the Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC). DIAC seeks to brings together professional organizations of designers, encourage interdisciplinary design, and is currently working on a sustainability framework. By its very foundations, DIAC is unapologetically motivated by business and economic development as it was started by City of Toronto’s Economic Development section.
2) Jean Pierre Lacroix of Shikatani Lacroix, presented the 2007 Cradle To Cradle Design Sustainability Study, a report prepared by his firm about sustainable initiatives in the packaged goods, retail and service industries. The study identified that the single biggest influence on industry was WalMart’s 7 Rs Program which seeks to reduce the packaging of their preferred suppliers. Lacroix pointed out that Walmart’s motivation is not environmental, but mostly driven by their mandate for reducing costs in production and transport.
Innovation and sustainable design are striving to achieve “the triple bottom line” (balancing social, environment and economic interests), and it seems inevitable that economics and business play a role. Poynor’s criticism suggested that solutions starting with an economic goal can be flawed. However, if all of the triple bottom line factors are equally considered in a holistic design solution that delivers benefits – does it really matter what the motivation or starting point is? I don’t think so. Furthermore, if designers are the great problem solvers we claim to be, then we will use many avenues to implement ideas. Educating, using or manipulating business forces are still powerful ways to achieve change.
Design exists in a context, and the business context is a valid part.
*Other sessions included the following (please email yen@worldhouse.ca for more detail):
1) Rick Poynor, UK design critic (design thinking) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Poynor
2) Maira Kalman, illustrator and author (her career in illustration) http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/
3) DIAC Design Green Panel www.diac.on.ca
- Janna Levitt, architect (working landscapes)
- Bernard Hellen, graphic design (sustainability in print design and paper)
- Jonathon Loudon, industrial design (2 types of green design – life cycle and changing behavior)
- Jean-Pierre Lacroix, analyst (business survey on sustainability)
- Rudi Myer, educator (design education at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design)
- Sandra Lester, interior design (green office practices)
4) Marc Alt, design strategist (sustainable design innovation, Designers Accord) http://marcalt.com/
5) Louise Fili, graphic design (her career in food and restaurants) http://www.louisefili.com/flash.html
6) Daniel Libeskind, architect (in conversation with Lee Jacobson about his architecture career and the ROM) http://www.daniel-libeskind.com/
