Panel Event: Transforming Designers — Not just another working day
Hosted by: NYC Service Design Collective and Service Design Drinks (SDD) Milan on November 6th, 2019 @FourSquare NYC
How do we define Design today? And using this definition of Design that varies by role, how can one pave their own way and excel as a multidisciplinary Designer?
Knowing the answer to these perennial questions is not as easy as one might want, so I was excited to hear from the panel members as they shed light on this topic from their individual professional experiences and points-of-view.
#Insights from Experts in Milan
Under the topic, Transforming Designers — Not just another working day, the event opened with SDD sharing their learnings from past conversations in the Transforming Designers series that explored the evolution of the Designer’s role from a strategic and responsibilities perspective.
In the recap, the major topics of the previous events were captured in hashtag form for the purposes of social media conversations:
2017 @ Frog Design
#OrganizationalTransformations
#DesignersChallengeORGS
#DesignCross-Pollination
#DesignThinking/Perception/Implications
#MaintreamTools
#DesignLeadership
2018 @ Fjord
#DesignObjectTransformation
#HardSkillsVsSoftSkills
#Transdisciplinarity
#DataLiteracy
#MeasureImpact
#Ethics
#DesignVsMachines
The dialogue continues at TransformingDesigners.com as well, have a look if you’re interested.
The Burning Questions in New York’s Design Community
Moderated by Antonio Ladarola and Marihum Pernia, the panel, Joanne Weaver, Mirco Pasqualini, Adam Perlis, and Tim Reizes, convened to answer these questions centered around the broader topics of boundaries, ecosystems, inclusivity, and scale in Design:
- Boundaries: Strategic Design is an expanding practice that is hard to define, can we instead define where are the boundaries now and what is next?
- Ecosystems: In the US we mainly associate service Design with the corporate world while an important part of the economy is small business and startup ecosystems. Are we doing enough for them?
- Inclusivity: Are we a diverse enough community? What should be done to become inclusive?
- Scale: Organizations mostly understood the value of Design, and they are adopting it at scale, how facilitate large in-house design teams operations?
Designers as the New Leaders
In the course of discussing these questions, a number of key themes emerged, the first of which had to do with the skills required to manage people. From a recruiting perspective, there are formal tracks to Principal Designer (or an equivalent level) at an organization. For day-to-day design work, the field has broadened with some sectors moving faster than others. It is important to level set that leadership is not management, just as Design is not pixel-pushing. Designers coming from other disciplines should apply lateral thinking to the process to spark innovation.
With leadership centered on business and teams, relationships are important. Design for relationships, create trust and motivate. Become collaborative, be the change consultant and advocate within the organization so that Design is valued. Tim, could not have said it any better about serving and growing Designers.
“There should be a willingness to hire, train and give Designers a seat at the table. Being the enabler so that Design can deliver value and what it does for the delivery of services” — Tim Reizes
This topic alone could have had its own dedicated event. It was a great segment that demands a follow-up conversation on actionable insights on managing organizations and especially in regards to change. Some of my own questions included the following: Within an organization, who is preparing Designers to anticipate the future? Beyond the seat at the table, what platforms are in place to address invisible walls that slow down Design integration in the end to end business functions? Where is Diversity and Inclusion in this?
Strategy and Thinking Ahead as Designers
The art of Clarity is a primary focus in Design strategy. Design Strategist is a relatively new role, but all Designers must learn how to communicate design and articulate using a narrative that includes the making process, informed decision making, and measurable KPIs and metrics.
“There is lots of confusion on what Design is. It is a process, a way of making things. Designers must learn the business narrative and frameworks for how to measure.” Mirco Pasqualini
Designers must be future thinking, there are new technologies that allow us to speak about future possibilities. UX Design and Service Design are some of the highest-paid Design fields today, but seeing opportunities in Audio Design, new roles such as Voice UX/UI could be the new frontier. On the other hand, what are we doing to set boundaries and new standards? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here and rapidly growing faster than regulatory organizations, but what are the ethics? Are there job titles such as Ethics Designer that have yet to be defined?
Design Cross-Pollination
The Client — Designer relationship has shifted. It is still central to the design process, but the dynamics of this relationship are now about co-creation and co-design. Both Design and Client teams are actively engaged in the design development process to ensure results meet the needs. Research should shift from extractive to participatory methods, especially when designing for social services.
“Agency built around collaboration to ensure that they Design and structure solutions together. No more magic reveals. Sit side by side and pair with the client. Agencies need to adapt to change” — Adam Perlis
Having worked in environments with both approaches, where as the Designer I had to balance being the expert and diligent student, I found that for a true partnership to be successful, both teams needed to equally participate and contribute, and transdisciplinarity and strong soft skills were critical to the process and creating a solution with high impact.
Measuring Value
Data and Analytics with associated metrics and KPI’s are central to measuring value, but we need better ways to measure and understand the opportunities that we create and impact that we make. Is this the white whale of Design? For example, beyond emotions, how do we measure culture change?
While writing case studies, it is important to show quantifiable results that informed your Design outcome, especially user interviews, and include both the positive and negative impacts.
“Failure is only failure when you don’t learn from it” — Joanne Weaver
Visual, Physical, Experience and System design fields were introduced in the dialogue. This is not a definitive list, but as we have our multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary Design conversations, how can we create a more cohesive Design approach and unified language?
Empathy Driven Design is critical to meeting User (Human) needs, but how can we as Designers adopt a more flexible approach and holistic attitude that places the User at the center but also considers the ecosystem around them when framing the problem and creating the solution?
Data and Creativity
Data gives a good example of what’s happening but not the why, we need to define the scope. Given the right space, data and creativity will spur innovation.
“Data is coming from the past, but it’s not the future. The challenge is how you give meaning to data”- Mirco Pasqualini
As I thought about the AI discussion introduced earlier, I am left with more questions than answers about Data. Beyond Design research, what other methodologies should I explore to make me a more future-ready and informed Designer? In complex projects especially, what measures are in place to recognize biases, both intentional and unintentional? What benchmarks should Design establish to ensure that all variables are included so that the predicted results guide to the needed solution?
Ethics in Design
This was clearly a hot topic, and if there was one takeaway, as frontier technologies continue to shape how we design, we need to make ways to talk about the Ethics of Design as we create products and services.
What is the moral compass of a business? the million-dollar question that perfectly sums up this topic was also indicative of the many other questions that filled this discussion. There is an opportunity for valuable Design insights. Given a Designer’s vantage point in the product development process, they can contribute to the business operating ethically by asking the sometimes difficult questions which other departments and stakeholders may not be asking. Bringing it into the context of an app that one enjoys, what are the boundaries for data collection? What is required to give a truly rewarding and impactful user experience?
“ Attention is the new currency… We need non Addictive Design” — Joanne Weaver
Designing for People comes with responsibility. As we advocate for transparency, we need to be accountable, think about unintended consequences amidst the possibilities. Furthermore, what is the social impact and sustainability of the system? Is it scalable?
Summary
This panel event was a fantastic introduction to understanding on a macro scale how Design continues to evolve and what we as Designers need to be cognizant of while pursuing tech-based solutions that intersect Design, Business, and People.
As I wrap up, the conversation does not end here, it was very clear, that as Design shifts, we as Designers will need to move with the industry to come out ahead.
2019 @ Service Design Collective discussion is summarized as:
#DesignersAsTheNewLeaders
#StrategyAndThinkingAheadAsDesigners
#DesignCross-Pollination
#MeasuringValue
#DataAndCreativity
#EthicsInDesign
Design has an exciting future a we enter the next decade. How might we continue this conversation about Designers as the New Leaders?
