Design Thinking
We asked leading design thinkers to share their thoughts about the important emerging issues for design. Take a look at our series of articles or watch our short films from Dott’s think tank.
Staying Involved is Critical
by Tom Drury
Working on the Eden Project taught us that involving people can have real benefits. But designers have to stay involved throughout the process.
Inspired
Over two days leading local, national and international design thinkers considered the question "What is design in our time? at Dott's Inspired event and think tank.
Research Must Change Too
by Lauren Tan
As design practices have been changing, research, the way we go about investigating design and our approaches to looking at design should also change.
Democratising Design
by Ruth Hasnip
We all have a vision of citizens participating in a design process, but how do we create the energy for them to want to do so, within our current institutions and systems?
The True Cost of Social Design
by John Tharkara
There is a sense, which is a bit vague, that social innovation projects are a good thing in themselves. But we need to know the costs and the consequences of our actions as designers.
In Design We Are Quite Lazy
by Lucy Kimbell
Designers trying to get local knowledge need to understand what we bring with us, our world views, our mind sets. Anthropology and the social sciences have been doing this for a century. Why don't we go and learn from them?
Do Designers Need Ethics?
by Mary Rose Cook
The ethics of collaboration seem to have been lost along the way. We need more debate around ethical considerations. How can we support designers working in a collaborative way in really working to their best ability?
It's the Economy, Stupid
by John Miller
The reason we’re doing this activity in Cornwall is because of an economic imperative… it's to do with how we grow value-added, higher-value jobs for people in this place. Somebody has to refer to where we are economically at the moment.
The Potential of Digital Tools
by Justin Marshall
What is the potential of digital production tools? Could they ultimately create new training, production and distribution hubs situated within communities – new post-industrial, local workshops?
Education is Deeply Dysfunctional
by Andy Polaine
Higher education is becoming more like schools. And not just more like schools today, but more like the worst sort of school from 200 years ago.
A Plea for Data-Driven Design
by Robert Woolf
If designers what to change behaviour on a global and a local level they should present data in a way that is more meaningful to people, and then perhaps people will take ownership of the problem as well as the solution.
Inspired by Parallel Fields
by Bryan Clark
How are we going to inspire our student designers to dig up the new issues that will emerge in a few years time? What sources of inspiration and parallel fields should we go to to feed knowledge?
Are We Asking Too Much?
by Bas Raijmakers
Are we asking too much from the clients, when on the one hand we ask them to give us space to do very new things, but on the other, we ask them to get involved with the new methods we are introducing?
Redistributing the Tools
by Emily Campbell
Design increases people's resourcefulness and self reliance. But as design begins to be invoked in everything from synthetic biology to public service reform, do we run the risk of losing a grip on what design means?
The Importance of Object
by Phil Gendall
In the context of this discussion about social innovation and design as a process of social change, I want to plea to not forget the importance of object. There are still thousands of old-fashioned designers producing things.
Designing With Or Designing By?
by Jeremy Myerson
Can we go from designing for people – the traditional view – through designing with people – the emerging practice – towards designing by people? That involves a fundamental shift in practice. Are we ready to make that change?
The Fantasy of Change
by Asier Perez
Are we producing change or just designing projects? Is it just the fantasy of change? Maybe we have to stop thinking of ourselves as authors and become leaders if we really want to produce change.
Don't Waste This Crisis
by Clive Grinyer
Design doesn't seem to be all that well-designed for the huge new scope it's got. I think we have to pull design into a new shape, and that's a crisis that is looming.
Design into Public Services
by Emily Thomas
How are we going to use design to actually sort out both our public services and some of the economic trouble that we’re in today? We have to look at sustainability, usability and desirability as well as cost, scope and time.
Creatives in Education
by Matt Hocking
What is education for? We have the idea that it's to create successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens. So what is the role of creativity within future learning and how we relate to schools?
Policy Needs to Meet Practice
by Robert Young
We have learned to imagine the future of technology... but as designers, and in other disciplines too, we seem to have a disconnect when it comes to imagining social futures.
A Culture of Confidence
by Steven Kyffin
How do we teach or learn the known, with the corresponding complexity of trying to collaboratively learn the un-yet-known or the as-yet-unknown? How do we build a culture of confidence where we can transfer competencies?
The Soapbox Story
by Katie Bunnell
I’ve got a soapbox here. If you look very carefully at it, you’ll see that it’s been designed to suit the characteristics of sustainably and locally grown material...
Design's in Public Engagement
by Mark Irlam and Tom Tobia
The problem of public apathy is not just a problem for politics. Can design be used an effective tool when tackling issues around engagement? We believe it can. But we as designers need to be more versatile and less precious.
Confidence in our Hands
by David Buurma
We forget that a lot of our beautiful landscape is essentially man made. What can one person do in a lifetime in the context of public space improvement in the physical world, and how could that be visualised?
