WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:32.604
I want to talk about 21st Century Design.
So, what do I mean by that?
I mean it's a different kind of design.
It's not the traditional design where we make beautiful,  wonderful objects and wonderful experiences.
It's about thinking about design as *a way of thinking*,
a way of addressing the major problems of the world,
because designers have a special way of addressing issues.

00:00:32.604 --> 00:01:02.243
We call it Design Thinking – it comes under many other different names –
but it's what designers have been doing for...
well, since the beginning of designers!
And
in other words, it's not new.
It's been around for
80... 100 years.
So, what is design as a way of thinking?
Well, here's how *I* like to talk about it.
And I call this *human-centered design*, and we'll come back to describe that term later.

00:01:02.243 --> 00:01:30.264
But it has four important components.
First of all, well, it's *human-centered*.
So, we always focus upon the people.
And that's very important because it's the only discipline where
the major focus is about making things that are appropriate for people.
Second, we solve the right problem.
You know, there are lots of really good problem-solvers in the world:
The economists, the political scientists and especially the engineers

00:01:30.264 --> 00:02:00.451
– they're trained to solve problems.
But engineers,
they never stop and say, "Is this the right problem?"
They give you a *solution*. But, you know,
I have a rule when I do my consulting work, which is:
Do not solve the problem that I am asked to solve.
That's because usually we discuss a problem by the *symptoms*.
And if you solve the symptoms, well, that's all very good...
but the problem *comes back*.
What you have to do is figure out: "What's the real cause?"

00:02:00.451 --> 00:02:33.442
So, we have epidemics,
especially in cities – not the current epidemic –
but just, say, cholera epidemics.
And we say, "Well, we should go in and treat them and cure the people!"
Yes... but *why* did you have epidemics?
Well, it's usually carried by poor sanitation.
All right, so let's improve the sanitation.
*Why* is there poor sanitation?
Well, because the people aren't using appropriate toilets.

00:02:33.442 --> 00:03:02.852
Well, OK, but why not?
Well, because they're homeless.
If you want to stop cholera epidemics, you have to solve the homeless problem;
the point being: You have to look at what the *fundamental issues* are and address them.
And those fundamental issues are much more *difficult* than solving the symptoms.
But unless you address them, the symptoms keep coming back and back and back.
Well, what can designers do to solve the homeless problem?

00:03:02.852 --> 00:03:32.459
Well, let's go back.
What do we do? We focus on the people.
We focus on answering the right problem – the deep underlying causes.
Third, we recognize that everything is a *system*.
You can't solve one little piece, because everything is *interconnected*.
So, you have to really look at the nature of the system.
And, finally – and this is *extremely* important –
we *don't rush* to a solution.

00:03:32.459 --> 00:04:02.465
We know that when we're dealing with human beings
and societies and different cultures
and political forces and economic factors
that whatever we do is probably *not* going to be right.
So, what we do is we try a *simple, small intervention*.
We see what the *results* are.
Then we modify it, and we continually
experiment,
do an intervention,
learn from it, change what we're doing,

00:04:02.465 --> 00:04:30.176
and slowly we'll get bigger and bigger
because each one allows us to do even more the next time;
and we'll get better and better.
So, that's the secret,
but it's a *hard secret* because
for a problem like the cholera epidemics I mentioned
it could take 10 years to solve.
But these are big, major problems – they will not be solved overnight.
And that's what designers, though, are really well trained to do.

00:04:30.176 --> 00:05:02.029
Design is an interesting discipline.
Designers don't really have any content.
The content that designers have and what they learn when they go to a design school and get design degrees
they learn the techniques; they learn the problem-solving and problem-defining methods.
They have a whole bunch of powerful tools.
And then,
because we don't know the details of healthcare or even housing,
we have to *bring in the experts*.

00:05:02.029 --> 00:05:33.586
So, we have to have a multidisciplinary team where we work together with people from all types of skills.
And we have to learn how to work with them and bring together a solution that is most appropriate for the people.
And the most important thing – which I'll come back to in a short time –
this has to come *from the people*.
If designers come in and look over a problem and say, "Ah! I  understand the problem; here's what you should do...",
it doesn't even matter if that's the correct answer. It will *not* work,

00:05:33.586 --> 00:06:02.975
because unless the people who are being affected understand and believe and accept it, it will not work.
So, the people themselves have to be part of the solution.
And you know what?
Quite often,
they've already started.
We have seven billion people in the world,
and a lot of them are really creative and wonderful.
And those people understand the problems they're facing.
And a number of those seven billion have
already started creative, wonderful solutions.

00:06:02.975 --> 00:06:33.195
So, instead of trying to come in and say, "Here's what we say, us experts, foreigners
(who don't understand your culture and don't understand your resources and don't understand what you're able to do and what you need),"
why not let the *people* lead the way?
We see what they're doing; we say, "That's really clever!
Ah! I wonder... if you need assistance, we can mentor,
we can facilitate, we can bring in other resources.
You have difficulty – *individuals* have difficulty tackling the whole system

00:06:33.195 --> 00:06:59.292
or tackling the political issues,
but that's where we can come in and help."
So, we call that *community-driven design*,
which is a subset of human-centered design;
which, as far as I am concerned, is really about *designing for humanity*.
So, human-centered design is a subset of
*humanity-driven design*,
*humanity-centered design* – because we're trying to save
– well, the planet.