Design?
WHAT DO THEY REALLY MEAN BY “DESIGN”? A textual analysis of the reports from the design-led labs that strive for better public service provision and policymaking Master’s Degree Programme in Creative Sustainability | 2016 Aalto University School of Arts, Design & Architecture FANG-YI LEE
ABOUT THIS THESIS WHAT? RESEARCH THE NOTION OF DESIGN WHEN IT ADAPTS TO THE NEW CONTEXT- PUBLIC SECTOR
HOW? TEXTUAL ANALYSIS REPORTS OF THIS TYPE OF PRACTICES (DESIGN-LED LABS)
WHO ARE DESIGN-LED LABS (DLLS)?
Strategic Foresight and Design Unit at Government of Alberta (CA)
Le 27e Région of France (FR)
Public Policy Lab (US)
Design Council (UK)
Kennisland (NL)
MindLab (DK)
Strategic Design Unit of SITRA (Helsinki Design Lab) (FI) Design Driven City (FI)
TRANSFORMATIVE CHALLENGES SUCH AS BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS, WICKED SOCIETAL PROBLEMS FOR GOVERNMENTS PROMPT DLLS' EMERGENCE
Australian Centre For Social Innovation (AUS)
Strategic Foresight and Design Unit at Government of Alberta (CA)
Le 27e Région of France (FR)
Public Policy Lab (US)
Design Council (UK)
Kennisland (NL)
MindLab (DK)
Strategic Design Unit of SITRA (Helsinki Design Lab) (FI) Design Driven City (FI)
NUMEROUS PUBLIC AGENCIES RISING, ADOPT DESIGN AS AN APPROACH TO TACKLE THE CHALLENGES
Australian Centre For Social Innovation (AUS)
Strategic Foresight and Design Unit at Government of Alberta (CA)
Le 27e Région of France (FR)
Public Policy Lab (US)
Kennisland (NL)
Design Council (UK)
MindLab (DK)
Strategic Design Unit of SITRA (Helsinki Design Lab) (FI) Design Driven City (FI)
OPERATION SCALES
NATIONAL
MUNICIPAL
Australian Centre For Social Innovation (AUS)
Strategic Foresight and Design Unit at Government of Alberta (CA)
Le 27e Région of France (FR)
Public Policy Lab (US)
Kennisland (NL)
Design Council (UK)
MindLab (DK)
Strategic Design Unit of SITRA (Helsinki Design Lab) (FI) Design Driven City (FI)
OPERATION SCALES
FUNDING STRUCTURES
NATIONAL
MUNICIPAL
GOVERNMENT OWNED
INDEPENDENT (PUBLIC, GOVERNMENT FUNDED)
INDEPENDENT (PRIVATE/ MULTIPLE SOURCES FUNDED)
Australian Centre For Social Innovation (AUS)
DESIGN-LED LABS ARE... 1. DESIGN AS ITS CORE COMPETENCE & APPROACH 2. WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SERVICE PROVISION & POLICYMAKING
Strategic Foresight and Design Unit at Government of Alberta (CA)
Le 27e Région of France (FR)
Public Policy Lab (US)
Kennisland (NL)
MindLab (DK)
Design Council (UK)
Strategic Design Unit of SITRA (Helsinki Design Lab) (FI) Design Driven City (FI)
WHAT DO THEY REALLY MEAN BY DESIGN? WHAT IS THE NOTION OF DESIGN WHEN IT ADAPTS TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR?
Australian Centre For Social Innovation (AUS)
PART 1. DESIGN LITERATURE
V.S.
PART 2. DLLS’CASE REPORTS
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS TO EXPLORE THE NOTIONS OF DESIGN ADOPT DESIGN LITERATURE AS THE ANALYTICAL LENSE TO EXAMINE THE NOTION OF DESIGN DEPICTED BY DLLS
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
First analyse what design theory describe “design” as base
PART 1. DESIGN LITERATURE
design themes
DATA 1/2 DESIGN LITERATURE
BRYAN LAWSON
Research in ARCHITECTURE
NIGEL CROSS
Research in INDUSTRIAL/ ENGINEERING DESIGN
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Secondly, utilise the identified design themes from the design theory to examine DLLs’ reports
PART 1. DESIGN LITERATURE LAWSON 2004, 2005 CROSS 2006, 2011
PART 2. DLLS’CASE REPORTS
DATA 2/2 DESIGN-LED LABS’ PRACTICES
is a cross-ministerial innovative unit that focuses its effort on citizen engagement
is an experimental unit in SITRA (Finnish Innovation Fund) that stresses the necessity of strategic design
is an independent enterprising charity that receives a grant from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
is a NPO supported by a private foundation and partner cooperating with the New York municipality
DATA 2/2 DESIGN-LED LABS’ PRACTICES
is a cross-ministerial innovative unit that focuses its effort on citizen engagement
is an experimental unit in SITRA (Finnish Innovation Fund) that stresses the necessity of strategic design
is an independent enterprising charity that receives a grant from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
is a NPO supported by a private foaundation and partner cooperating with the New York municipality
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
OVERLAPPING
PART 1. DESIGN LITERATURE LAWSON 2004, 2005 CROSS 2006, 2011
EMERGING (NEW)
PART 2. DLLS’CASE REPORTS
MINDLAB, DESIGN COUNCIL, HELSINKI DESIGN LAB, PUBLIC POLICY LAB
RESEARCH QUESTION
1. WHAT ARE THE ESTABLISHED NOTIONS OF DESIGN ARTICULATED BY LAWSON AND CROSS?
RESEARCH QUESTION
1. WHAT ARE THE ESTABLISHED NOTIONS OF DESIGN ARTICULATED BY LAWSON AND CROSS? 2. WHAT ARE THE EMERGING NOTIONS OF DESIGN DEPICTED IN THE DLLS’ REPORTS?
RESEARCH QUESTION
1. WHAT ARE THE ESTABLISHED NOTIONS OF DESIGN ARTICULATED BY LAWSON AND CROSS? 2. WHAT ARE THE EMERGING NOTIONS OF DESIGN DEPICTED IN THE DLLS’ REPORTS? 3. HOW THE DLLS’ REPORTS (2) EXTEND OR CONTRADICT THE ESTABLISHED NOTIONS OF DESIGN (1)?
PROCESS & METHOD
THEMATIC ANALYSIS
RECOGNISE PATTERNS, ORGANISE THE LITERATURE, REPORTS INTO DATASET WITH DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS
PROCESS & METHOD VISUALISATION “To see challenges in a new light we sometimes have to literally see them differently— no spreadsheet would have changed the mind of the security staff. This is why visualisation as a form of analysis rather than illustration is more effective when it is used as part of the thinking process, not applied after the fact to pretty up ideas that are fully formed.” (Helsinki Design Lab, 2011)
STEWARDSHIP “Successful design does not end with good ideas. It also involves bringing people together to convert ideas into actions, which is the role of stewardship.” (Helsinki Design Lab, 2011)
QUOTE MATRIX OF THE ENTIRE DATASET (LITERATURE & REPORTS)
RESEARCH PROCESS
ITERATIVE CYCLE
REPRESENTATION PECULIARITY OF DESIGN PROBLEM
ABDUCTIVE REASONING
PROTOTYPING TO TEST
VISUALISATION
NARRATIVE OBSERVATION IMAGINATIVE THINKING
CO-EVOLVE PROBLEM & SOLUTION PROFESSIONAL EMPATHY
SOLUTIONORIENTED
CO-DESIGN
COPE WITH UNCERTAINTY FACILITATION
INTEGRATION
RECONSTRUCTION OF BRIEFS
USERCENTRICITY
STEWARDSHIP CO-PRODUCTION
ITERATIVE CYCLE
REPRESENTATION PECULIARITY OF DESIGN PROBLEM
ABDUCTIVE REASONING
PROTOTYPING TO TEST
VISUALISATION
NARRATIVE OBSERVATION IMAGINATIVE THINKING
CO-EVOLVE PROBLEM & SOLUTION PROFESSIONAL EMPATHY
SOLUTIONORIENTED
CO-DESIGN
COPE WITH UNCERTAINTY FACILITATION
INTEGRATION
RECONSTRUCTION OF BRIEFS
USERCENTRICITY
STEWARDSHIP CO-PRODUCTION
CALCULATION ON NUMBERS OF QUOTE: DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EMPHASIS ON EACH IDENTIFIED DESIGN THEMES
2
SCHOLARS
14
SUB THEMES
3
MAIN THEMES
ANALYSIS 4 RESULT & FINDING
BRYAN LAWSON NIGEL CROSS
PUBLICATIONS
PECULIARITY OF DESIGN PROBLEM ABDUCTIVE REASONING SOLUTION-ORIENTED CO-EVOLVE PROBLEM & SOLUTION ITERATIVE CYCLE RECONSTRUCTION OF BRIEFS INTEGRATION COPING WITH UNCERTAINTY OBSERVATION IMAGINATIVE THINKING REPRESENTATION - VISUALISATION - NARRATIVE - PROTOTYPING TO TEST
DESIGN TENDENCIES DESIGN CAPABILITIES DESIGN SKILLS
PART1. DESIGN LITERATURE
BRYAN LAWSON NIGEL CROSS PECULIARITY OF DESIGN PROBLEM ABDUCTIVE REASONING SOLUTION-ORIENTED CO-EVOLVE PROBLEM & SOLUTION ITERATIVE CYCLE RECONSTRUCTION OF BRIEFS INTEGRATION COPING WITH UNCERTAINTY OBSERVATION IMAGINATIVE THINKING REPRESENTATION - VISUALISATION - NARRATIVE - PROTOTYPING TO TEST
DESIGN TENDENCIES DESIGN CAPABILITIES DESIGN SKILLS
PART1. DESIGN LITERATURE
PART2. DLLS’ REPORTS
BRYAN LAWSON NIGEL CROSS
DESIGN TENDENCIES DESIGN CAPABILITIES DESIGN SKILLS
MINDLAB, HELSINKI DESIGN LAB, DESIGN COUNCIL, PUBLIC POLICY LAB STEWARDSHIP FACILITATION USER-CENTRICITY - PROFESSIONAL EMPATHY - CO-DESIGN - CO-PRODUCTION
NEW DESIGN CAPABILITIES
PECULIARITY OF DESIGN PROBLEM ABDUCTIVE REASONING SOLUTION-ORIENTED CO-EVOLVE PROBLEM & SOLUTION ITERATIVE CYCLE
PART1. DESIGN LITERATURE
PART2. DLLS’ REPORTS
INTEGRATION RECONSTRUCTION OF BRIEFS COPING WITH UNCERTAINTY OBSERVATION IMAGINATIVE THINKING REPRESENTATION - VISUALISATION - NARRATIVE - PROTOTYPING TO TEST
What design process tends to be and how designers approach a problem
Tangible techniques to enable capabilities.
OVERVIEW OF DESIGN THEORY BY LAWSON & CROSS
PECULIARITY OF DESIGN PROBLEM ABDUCTIVE REASONING SOLUTION-ORIENTED CO-EVOLVE PROBLEM & SOLUTION ITERATIVE CYCLE
PART1. DESIGN LITERATURE
INTEGRATION RECONSTRUCTION OF BRIEFS COPING WITH UNCERTAINTY OBSERVATION IMAGINATIVE THINKING REPRESENTATION - VISUALISATION - NARRATIVE - PROTOTYPING TO TEST
PART2. DLLS’ REPORTS OVERVIEW OF DESIGN THEORY BY LAWSON & CROSS
PECULIARITY OF DESIGN PROBLEM ABDUCTIVE REASONING SOLUTION-ORIENTED CO-EVOLVE PROBLEM & SOLUTION ITERATIVE CYCLE
PART1. DESIGN LITERATURE
PART2. DLLS’ REPORTS
INTEGRATION RECONSTRUCTION OF BRIEFS COPING WITH UNCERTAINTY OBSERVATION IMAGINATIVE THINKING REPRESENTATION - VISUALISATION - NARRATIVE - PROTOTYPING TO TEST
STEWARDSHIP FACILITATION USER-CENTRICITY - PROFESSIONAL EMPATHY - CO-DESIGN - CO-PRODUCTION
OVERVIEW OF DESIGN THEORY BY ENTIRE DATA (LITERATURE+REPORTS)
MAIN-THEMES
SUB-THEMES
Bryan Lawson: How designers think (2005), What designer know (2004)
Nigel Cross: Designerly way of knowing (2006), Design thinking (2011)
Design Council (UK)
MindLab (DK)
Public Policy Lab (US)
Strategic Design Unit of SITRA (Helsinki Design Lab, FI)
Peculiarity of design problem
1. DESIGN TENDENCIES
Abductive reasoning Solution-oriented Co-evolve problem & solution Iterative cycle
2. DESIGN CAPABILITIES
Reconstruction of briefs Integration Coping with uncertainty Observation Imaginative thinking
3. DESIGN SKILLS
Representation - visualisation - narrative - prototyping to test User-centricity
4. NEW DESIGN CAPABILITYIES
- professional empathy - co-design - co-production Stewardship Facilitation
LEGEND
Not present
Present (1-5)
Extended
Frequent ( >5)
SUMMARY OF THE DESIGN THEMES EMPHASISED BY THE DLLS
FINDING 1.
NOT MUCH DISCUSSION ABOUT "DESIGN TENDENCIES" BY THE DLLS, EXCEPT "ITERATIVE CYCLE". HOWEVER, DLLS CONSIDER ITERATION AS A PRACTICAL APPROACH, TOGETHER WITH PROTOTYPING/TESTING TO MITIGATE THE RISKS OF FAILURE IN THE DESIGN PROCESS.
FINDING 2. EXTENDED CAPABILITIES & SKILLS
FINDING 2. EXTENDED CAPABILITIES & SKILLS
DLLS EXPAND 4 DESIGN ELEMENTS' ORIGINAL USE IN ORDER TO ADAPT FOR THE NEW CONTEXT- GOVERNMENT. 1. INTEGRATION
2. OBSERVATION
3. VISUALISATION
4. PROTOTYPING TO TEST
FINDING 2. EXTENDED CAPABILITIES & SKILLS
01 INTEGRATION DESIGN LITERATURE
DESIGN-LED LABS
Designers do not ‘think separately’ the
System thinking and mapping to connect
design constraints, they consider a set
seemingly unrelated parts, siloed structures.
of requirements together in order to generate a holistic solution, e.g. chair
Designers ‘act as the intermediary between
design (issues of style, material, structure,
disparate ideas, viewpoints and even goals’
manufacture...).
that transcribe a set of complexities into a (Lawson 2005)
system map for integration. (Helsinki Design Lab 2011)
FINDING 2. EXTENDED CAPABILITIES & SKILLS
02 OBSERVATION DESIGN LITERATURE
DESIGN-LED LABS
Not much and direct discussion.
Foster ethnographic research as one of important design skills.
‘To improve pit-stop procedures, Gordon hired a film crew to film the team
Ethnography enables the investigations
practicing pit stops, and then played
‘moving beyond what people say they do to
back the film, stopping it to identify
what they really do’ in order to demonstrate
difficulties and errors, and devising ways
evidence for identifying people’s unspoken
to improve to procedures’.
aspirations in particular. (Cross 2011)
(Design Council, 2013)
FINDING 2. EXTENDED CAPABILITIES & SKILLS
03 VISUALISATION DESIGN LITERATURE
Design outcome & think tool.
DESIGN-LED LABS
Facilitate communication among diverse stakeholders: concretise the abstract idea,
‘Dialectics of skecthing’ is a medium for the
enable others see the problem differently.
designers to reflect their thoughts, start the design conversation to evolve the
Visualisation skills can be beneficial for
idea and enable other to join the design
policymaking by its capability of facilitating
process.
multidisciplinary teamwork. (Design Council 2013)
FINDING 2. EXTENDED CAPABILITIES & SKILLS
04 PROTOTYPING DESIGN LITERATURE
DESIGN-LED LABS
1: 1 scale prototype, e.g. city car design.
Agile, simple, cheap form to test feasibility at early stage.
Enable future use simulation, reconcile what is imagining and what can be
A continuous small-scale prototype
accomplished, and avoids some hidden
testing performs as a rather secure means
mistakes that were unable to discover with
that leaves more opportunities for further
graphical media.
improvements in comparison to hurry and (Cross 2011)
launch expensive pilots that required huge resource commitment. (Public Policy Lab 2013)
FINDING 3. EMERGENT CAPABILITIES
THE "NEW DESIGN CAPABILITIES" HAS NOT COVERED BY LAWSON AND CROSS AT ALL.
FINDING 3. EMERGENT CAPABILITIES
TO ENSURE THE TANGIBLE CHANGES, DLLS EMPHASISE "STEWARDSHIP" & "FACILITATION" TO STEER DESIGN PROPOSALS COVERT INTO REAL ACTIONS. The capability of stewardship allows designers to bridge the plan and the implementation, guides designers to manage the plan in line with practicalities to guarantee it taken into actions (Helsinki Design Lab 2013).
Designers’ facilitation skill eliminate barriers amidst silo expertise and persuade them to embrace the new ideas through a series of workshops to ensure a real change (MindLab 2013).
FINDING 3. EMERGENT CAPABILITIES
THE DLLS DRAW THE EXTENSIVE ATTENTION TO USER-CENTRICITY AND EXPLORE VARIOUS SET OF TOOLS TO ENABLE IT.
FINDING 3. EMERGENT CAPABILITIES
ROLE OF USER TRANSFORMED FROM PASSIVE RECEIVER TO ACTIVE CO-PRODUCER. DESIGN LITERATURE
DESIGN-LED LABS
Users are remote from the design
Designing service in the manner that
process and designers may have not
allows the public to participate in the
formal access to approach users
planning phase, inducing members of
either, therefore they become the
the public to perceive themselves as
least influential player in the design
co-producers of their own services rise
process (Lawson 2005).
the chance to achieve impactful result (MindLab 2013).
MAIN-THEMES
SUB-THEMES
Bryan Lawson: How designers think (2005), What designer know (2004)
Nigel Cross: Designerly way of knowing (2006), Design thinking (2011)
Design Council (UK)
MindLab (DK)
Public Policy Lab (US)
Strategic Design Unit of SITRA (Helsinki Design Lab, FI)
Peculiarity of design problem
1. DESIGN TENDENCIES
Abductive reasoning Solution-oriented Co-evolve problem & solution Iterative cycle
2. DESIGN CAPABILITIES
Reconstruction of briefs Integration Coping with uncertainty Observation
CONCLUSION
Imaginative thinking
3. DESIGN SKILLS
Representation - visualisation - narrative - prototyping to test User-centricity
4. NEW DESIGN CAPABILITYIES
- professional empathy - co-design - co-production Stewardship Facilitation
LEGEND
Not present
Present (1-5)
Extended
Frequent ( >5)
BENEFITS OF EMPLOYING NEW DESIGN CAPABILITIES
REFRAME WICKED SOCIETAL PROBLEMS
RE-INITIATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC SECTOR AND CITIZENS
COST MANAGEMENT
“This capability grew from the private sector, but provides vital cues for the public sector. it is the capability to do more for citizens with less, or do less with greater effect. it has the potential to meet the pressing needs of the present, but also to help governments achieve wider long-term aims of growth and quality of life for its citizens.�
Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, UK.
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