Midterm Reflection: SDI
When I was a kid, I just knew I wanted to be an inventor. It was 2008 and the first Iron Man movie had come out and I, as an 8 year old who liked taking things apart, was in awe at the level of skill Tony Stark’s character had. He had visions of something cool and then was able to create it exactly. I wanted to do that. I wanted to be able to create whatever i put my mind to. Not only that, but Iron Man is a superhero; it was very apparent to me that helping people, creating things for people and not profit, is the most important thing. Tony’s character arc in the movie is learning that profit means nothing if people had to die to create it; Tony feels bad for the role he played in the war in the middle east and sets out to create things that right his wrong and immediately ending the weapons divison of his company. For me, I don’t see myself as a hero, but I do think I owe something to my fellow humans by considering them and their needs. I told my mom that i wanted to invent and she told me, if i want to change the world, I should become an engineer.
Flash forward to my time in AP environmental science my junior year of high school where I learned about nuclear fusion: the process by which energy is created by smashing atoms together until they create a new element. Its a renewable source of energy that literally powers the processes of the sun with little to no harmful emission during the process. Knowing this, I was in shock that every scientists in the world wasn't working to tackle that problem, as it would change the game for so many fields if we could have that form of energy. I was thinking about the ways people would benefit if this form of energy was the standard and how the quality of life for billions would increase. I didn't know it at the time, but this was my first run in with service design and design thinking.
To me, service design is the process of visualizing how someone will interact with a space/product and innovating where interactions have been reported as being poorly. Its main purpose is to think about how a creation will be used; what purpose will it now serve to the intended consumer. It should be a people first approach so that specific needs can be anticipated and later incorporated from inception of an idea so not a single stakeholder is left unaccounted for. Service design is a community effort to communicate needs directly and finds ways to meet those needs as a collective in whatever way is the most accessible.
Ive had this drive for the people around me ever since I can remember and im never lacking in the empathy im willing to extend. For a long time there i was stuck in a very lonely mindset that no one cares about people the way I do. Let me explain; as an autistic person, people always told me the specific ways i need things to be done is excessive and unnecessary and having no empathy extended my way. Out of spite, i wanted to care about others more, to show the people who mistreated me what it looks like to actually care about someone. It took several conversations with like minded people to realize im not alone in caring about how things effect others and being dedicated to stopping mistreatment and providing for others.
It wasn’t until i took this class that I found out the way i view the world and how i want to show up for people is an entire field of people dedicating their lives to the service of others. In this class ive learned tangible ways to implement people centered designs. There are actual tools for visualizing the connected needs of others like stakeholder maps and blueprinting to foster connections across once believed separated lines. One case study that sticks with me is the one from “Design thinking for the greater good” and the section about autistic people. Reading that brought me to tears because it seems so simple to me to just ask people what they need before you try and give them something. Reading about the joy they experienced and how their individuality and self expression was able to not only be accommodated, but celebrated in their space made me so happy. Ive learned that the most important thing is to listen to what people need. Be it the people you're designing for or the people your working along side. In all the group activities except for the Jam, I felt like we were bouncing off each other and collaborating. During the Jam however, I found it hard to feel heard in my group; I was listening and building off ideas, but no one was doing the same for me. This made it apparent to me that design thinking is only effective if we all come to the table with collaboration in mind. I dont think they did it on purpose but the impact is the same, actively not engaging with everyone in the group will always shut down the creative process in my opinion. Its not an overnight process to be able to center the feelings of others, but this class is that step into understanding how.
As an engineer, I have no passion for profit. I dont want to make robot or phones or apps. I want to create things for people who need it the most, free of charge. I want to be able to cultivate a community of people with specialized skills that are able to bring said skills to people who need them without worrying for their own needs. The mayo clinic has a model of fixed salary for its doctors so they can focus on patient care and good outcomes, i want the same model for the engineering profession at large. I dont want to be an elon musk if that means someone has to live in poverty. I want to foster the intracommunity conversations that lead to innovation. In the talks ive had with my peers, they are too focused on getting a “good” job or getting enough money to not have to worry about meeting their own needs, which has led to them creating redundant products just to get a payout. I want to recognize the problems people face and work together with them towards the best solution for their situation. Money and time stop us from doing the market research needed to make sure people are being accommodated in the ways that they need and I want to disrupt that. Nothing should be in the way of helping the most marginalized and I know I cant think of the way forward alone. We as professionals must find ways to circumvent bureaucracy so people don’t die waiting for help.
https://youtu.be/OY5eba3jxmg?si=laSjxhcFl9xeuUwXI
remember watching a Youtube Video “why companies cant design sustainable eco-friendly products” from channel Design Theory, a professional design engineer, where he said as designers, you come to the table with alot of ides to help sectors of people you care about. Everyone has their own plan for the best way to implement and they tend to be at odds; not everyone can agree how best to interact with the customer base because the varying backgrounds leads everyone to favor their own perspective. So what they end up doing, what they can all agree on, is what will make the company money. That’s how easy it is for people to be taken out of the equation of design innovation. I dont ever want to shut down people-centered conversations simply because we cant agree yet on how best to center them. People and their needs should be at the heart of innovation, or else what even is the point.
