We need to take responsibility for the direct impact our work has on planet and society. We need a more ethical, social and sustainable approach to creating new products and services.
And while that may seem as a daunting task (and let’s be honest, it’s not going to be easy) it will also be an exciting undertaking. A new path we need to explore, a new path that will lead to new discoveries and a ways to think about design and innovation.
We can do better
It’s so easy to buy something online that on numerous occasions I bought something before realising I actually bought it. We’ve been optimising online shopping up to a point where we understand the desires of our customers better than that they themselves do.
The last decade has undeniably been great for design, and UX design in particular. Ideas like “human-centric design’ and methods such as design sprints and design thinking found their way into the boardrooms of corporations and became part of ‘business lingo’.
And, let’s be clear, putting ‘the user first’ has brought us a lot. By placing the desires and needs of humans at the centre of our design and innovation processes we’ve created engaging, efficient and highly profitable products and business models.
Just take a look at a 2-year old using an iPhone to see that we’ve succeeded to built super easy-to-use and almost addictive experiences that are literally child’s play. The use of technology has truly been democratised, open to many, and not reserved for the tech-savvy only. And that’s an amazing step forward.
But to solely focus on satisfying human needs and desires is also risky. If we take an honest look at the state of things today, it’s clear that our quest for the easiest and most frictionless user experience has led to several unintended downsides.
When we talk about ‘user-centric’ design are we then really talking about designing with the user in mind? Or are we talking about optimising our systems to take advantage of human nature in order to sell more products, make our services more ‘sticky’, and our apps more addictive?
Do we really need to have our orders delivered the same day? Do we understand the consequences of choosing the convenience of ordering a book online over getting one from our local bookstore? What happens with those clothes we can return so easily without thinking? Do we really want to spend our spare time scrolling through other people’s experiences? And do we know what news to trust and what not?
While I believe that most of these innovations were not meant to be harmful they can still lead to excess, unintended consequences and exploit consumer behaviour. We have been optimising our products for how businesses want users to consume, but we failed to realise the effects this had on them as individuals, on societies and the environment.
The current way of designing has some essential flaws:
- Product myopia
When creating products we pride ourselves on being pixel perfect and always aim to deliver the smoothest user experience. We love to obsess over details and are trained to create the best product possible. But what if that focus on details makes us blind to see the bigger picture? It’s important to take into account the larger context in which our products will eventually be used, only then we will understand the effect of our decisions on other parts of the system. Decisions that can, unknowingly and unwittingly, disrupt an already existing balance or ecosystem.
We’ve been designing our products as isolated experiences but in a world this complex and systemic we live in everything we do has an effect on something else. - A strong focus on desirability
Not giving in to each and every desire is one of the key principles of raising kids. And I’m sure we are all familiar with the tension between what we desire short term and what’s good for us in a longer term. Desire is not a bad thing in itself, but to actively trigger it and use it to make our products more ‘addictive’ is another thing. “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works” — the words of a former Vice President of User Growth at Facebook.
Maybe it’s time to look more critically at those desires and understand that what a user (and by extension our planet) needs, might not be equal to what he desires. - An obsession with removing friction
One key principle of human-centred design is to create seamless experiences and to minimise inconvenience for our users. Friction is usually the ‘bad guy’ that prevents users from getting things done and accomplish their goals. But treating friction as the enemy of ‘good user experience’ is underestimating the value it can have. If you look at the ‘real world’ a lot of products have some sort of friction built in: It’s a good thing a gun has a safety pin, a car door a child lock, and that to open a medicine bottle you need to twist your arm in weird ways.
We need to start to consider ‘friction’ as a design tool to pause people and make them more aware of the decions they are making.
Finding a new way
Did you know that 40% of online clothing purchases are returned? It’s super user-friendly to have a ‘free return’ option, you just order two or three similar items with different sizes ,fit it at home, and send back what you don’t need. But what about the consequences? The extra traffic and carbon it costs to deliver those goods to your house and to return those same items later? What happens with those returns? Is that really the most human & planet friendly way of doing things?
Looking at the state of things today: I hope we can agree that a new way of looking at design and product innovation is needed. We really don’t need to toss all our learnings and processes over board, there’s still a lot that’s valuable. But we might want to redefine our models and way of thinking.
To start looking into new directions and explore the possibilities we’ve tried to define the mindset or, so you will, a set of principles we adhere to while designing:
- Do no harm
Treat design as the super power it is . And with great power comes great responsibility. Be aware of whom you are working for and what the goal is of the project you’re working on. Wether or not you do that project is ultimately your decision. But you have the responsibility to at least inform yourself. - Create awareness
Change starts with creating awareness. We need to give ourselves, our users and our clients, options and transparant information to make the right decisions. We need to help them to make informed choices and to make the right decisions. - Look beyond the product
Your product exists within a larger context. It’s part of a bigger ecosystem. Everything you do has an effect on other parts of that system. Be aware of unintended consequences. You might disrupt something you weren’t aware of. - Aim to reduce
Don’t solve a problem by adding complexity, aim to solve it by reducing. Complex systems increase the chance of unintended consequences. But also remember: ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.’ Sometimes complexity is there for a reason. (remember our friend friction?) - Design for humans
Designing for a better planet is designing for human beings. To come up with new ideas we need diverse and inclusive teams. Foster the differences, be open for other point of views and always be aware of your own biases. - Be a radical optimist
To say that this is going to be easy, would be a lie. To think it’s going to be comfortable and that we can keep on living the life we’ve been living would be an illusion. And, yes, there are a million reasons why this wouldn’t work. But look at it in a different way, and you see as many possibilities. Exciting new ways to think about innovation, our planet and society.
Planet Centric Design as a way forward
So let’s talk about those returned purchases again. Sure, it’s convenient that you can try those clothes on at home. But the strain on ‘the system’ is pretty heavy: the costs for shops are very high, the burden on environment unnecessary and, if you think about it, is it really that ‘user friendly’ ? What if you could design a system where you reduce the chance of ordering the wrong product? While this would need some smart innovation it would also reduce costs, CO2 emissions and eventually you will get happier customers, because no one really enjoys the hassle of returning items, right?
Doing good is good for business. And while the main driver to look for new approaches is to reduce the negative impact on planet and society, there are definitely other benefits. We believe that defying the status quo and forcing ourselves to come up with new solutions is an important source of new innovation. Necessity is the mother of invention. People have always been creative in times of crisis
Planet Centric Design is an evolution of user-centric problem solving and considers a wider lens through which design can help innovate businesses and be better. We are still humans designing for other humans, but we try to understand the, often, complex systems of our planet and society in order to produce sustainable outcomes.
We are at the beginning of this journey, and it’s still very much a work-in-progress. We team up with other agencies and designers to talk with and learn from each other. Because we realise that this isn’t something we can do by ourselves, nor do we want to. We’re actively looking for discussions on this topic to gain other ideas and viewpoints. Only then we can become better. As designers as well as a species.
To see Planet Centric Design as a novelty, or as merely a ‘choice’, is to neglect the current problems we have. To design for a better planet is to design for human beings.
To be truly human centric is to be planet centric.
Martijn Hinfelaar is Creative Director at The Garage.
The Blue Dot Initiative is initiated by The Garage. The Garage is founded by innogy, the world’s largest pioneer in energy transition and sustainability — and as independent part of E.ON — we share a deep commitment to preserving and improving the world.
This article is part of The Blue Dot Initiative, where together with like minded creatives we explore the next revolution in innovation — Planet Centric Design.
