MA Innovation Management student at UAL CSM, CMF-Industrial Design | Textile Design | Experience Design
This talk @LCC UAL gave me some strong thoughts to take home apart from a better understanding of Service Design. After all, as mentioned in the talk - “Designers are round-edged”, where we need discussions to bounce off varied ideologies for new ideas. 1. The power of inclusion in organisations : The talk on the ‘Purple Pound’ made me ponder. As designers focussing on human-centric design, climate change has reminded us that we are not alone on this planet. Moving towards bio-centric design, it is important to question ourselves if we are truly human-centric yet. While diversifying and differentiating ourselves based on superficial characteristics, it is only meaningful if we are inclusive in a human-centric context before we achieve design for the planet. 2. Unlearning as a path to innovation : Being aware of one’s own biases itself gives immense potential to explore new avenues. Although trend forecasting is used in organisations to decide the steps ahead. I think following upcoming societal trends in design could take a level of unlearning, which is often overlooked while establishing new pathways within product or service domains. Maybe it is important to strike that balance between innovation and reality to at least build a bridge towards what cannot be fathomed today. 3. Career security driving education : There was an unheard sense of panic around career security in young minds was reflected in the Q&A. “Refined craft would always have a place in the real world unlike dabblers”, which made me realise how important it is during education to find our own values to align it better with the values of the organisations that we build or be part of in the future. It takes true motivation to channel the fears of finding employment into finding our talent in this realistic world. But, is that too difficult to achieve?
Some excellent Q&A from the students from MAServiceDesign LCC-UAL which helps us to map out what the future might look like for the next generation of designers. -"What can you do when the work you have to do goes against your personal values?" -"Who's really responsible to driving the fundamental changes that our society needs?" -"How do you make the business case for inclusive design, or even to widen the definition of stakeholders for Life Centred Design?" -"What do we need to change in our approach if we're going to work successfully with non-designer stakeholders?" -"How do I rejoin the job market in a way that reflects the additional value of my MA, rather than taking a pay cut for dropping out?". 😮 The questions showed a realistic view about the shifting position of design in corporate hierarchies, but also concerns that big companies may not be employers of choice as few are seen to walk the walk when it comes to turning their values into actions. The good news for this cohort, is that they're sharp, curious and adaptive. They'll find ways to draw on their design toolkits, seeking out and capitalising on opportunities, even if the job title, (or even JD) lacks the work "design". We also had some provocative pitches from design luminaries: Tom Smith, Ben Reason, Hortance Chang, Federico Vaz and a brave Improv session from the legend that is Alice Kennedy. Brevity, levity and profound points in equal measure. Thanks to Ashmita Radhakrishnan Sharvari Joshi and Dr. Hena for organising an event that started the week with a bucket of wicked questions and resolved some of them in a wine glass the Student's Union bar. (Base photo courtesy of Ben Reason).
