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Authoredby"TheDesignCollaborative"*
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DesignXisanew,evidencebasedapproachforaddressingmanyofthecomplexandseriousproblemsfacingtheworld
today.Itaddstoandaugmentstoday'sdesignmethods,reformulatingtherolethatdesigncanplay.Moderndesignhas
grownfromafocusonproductsandservicestoarobustsetofmethodsthatisapplicabletoawiderangeofsocietal
issues.Whencombinedwiththeknowledgeandexpertiseofspecializeddisciplines,thesedesignmethodsprovide
powerfulwaystodeveloppracticalapproachestolarge,complexissues.

Themajorproblemsfacinghumanitytodayinvolvecomplexsystemsofstakeholdersandissues.Thesechallenges
ofteninvolvelargenumbersofpeopleandinstitutionsintermingledwithtechnologies,especiallythoseofcommunication,
computation,andtransportation.Health,education,urbanization,andenvironmentalissueshavethesecharacteristics,
asdotheissuesofsustainability,energy,economics,politics,andoverallwellbeing.

Tounderstandhowdesigncanassistwiththeseissuesitisusefultodoaquickreviewofthehistoryofthedesign
profession.Themodernpracticeofdesignhaditsrootsintheindustrialrevolution.Designanditspredecessor
professionsofferedasystematicwaytohelpindustrycreateproductsandinformationfortheemergingmiddleclassin
EuropeandAmerica.Theprimaryfocusofthedesignerwasimprovingtheintrinsicvalueandprofitabilityforindustryin
thecontextofdevelopmentsinmassmanufacturingandassembly.

DesignchangeditsfocusafterWorldWarIItoanemphasisuponappearance,oftenunrelatedtohowproducts
performedorhowtheywereused.Asthedevelopmentofelectroniccircuitsandcomputerchipsalloweddevicestohave
increasedfunctions,theemphasisonappearanceresultedincomplicatedandconfusinginteractions.Thenextstagein
design,whichiswherewearetoday,iscorrectingtheseproblemsbydevelopingmethodsofdesigningfortheneedsand
capabilitiesofpeople.Theresultismoreunderstandableandpleasurableinteractionsbetweenpeopleandtechnology.

Theemphasisonmeetinghumanneedsandabilitiesalsoledtothedevelopmentoftoolsfordiscoveringthedeep,
fundamental(root)issuesunderlyingtheseneeds.Today,thereisgrowingrecognitionthatthesenewmethodscanbe
appliedtoawidevarietyofissues,includingmanagement,organizationalstructure,and,mostimportantly,thelarge,
ambiguous,complex,andfastchangingproblemsfacingsociety.However,althoughthecurrenttoolsofdesignbeginto
addresstheseissues,morecomprehensivemethodsarerequired.

DesignXaimstoenhancethetoolsrequiredtoassistpeople,organizations,andsocietiesindevelopingsystemsand
proceduresthataddressmajorhumanandsocietalneeds.DesignXbuildsuponthedesignprofession'semphasisof
thinkingbydoing,thinkingbydrawing,sketching,testing,andmakingcoupledwithintensiveobservationaltechniques,
deepanalysesoftheentiresystem,andrepeated,iterativetesting,reflectionandmodification.

Withinacademicinstitutions,traditionaldisciplinesanalyzeissuesindepth.Designdiffersfromtheseapproaches.
Insteadofdeepanalysis,designleveragestheknowledgeofthemanydisciplinesrelevanttoanyissueinordertoyield
practicalapproachesthatcanhelpenhancecurrentconditions.Designisadisciplineofdoing,applyingitsmethodsin
areasthatlackdeepunderstandingbutareinneedofcontinualimprovement.Designaimstobepractical,always
attemptingtoimproveuponcurrentconditions,evenwherefullsolutionscannotbeachieved.

Inthepast,designhasfocuseduponproductsandservices,butthedesignmethodsofcontinual,iterativecyclesof
exploration,reflection,implementationandvalidationcanbeappliedtomanysocietalproblems.
DesignXisacompilationandexpansionofworkbeingdonebynumerousorganizations,privateandpublic,universities
andcompanies.DesignXattacksthelargerproblems,thosethatinvolvecomplexsystems,wherepeoplewithdifferent
skillsneedtocreativelyandreliablyworktogether.Thereexistnumerousexamplesofthiswithinthepastdecadeby
pioneeringorganizationsthatprovidethefoundationsuponwhichtobuild.

DesignXconcentratesonhumanneeds,exploringissuesindepthtofindrootcauses,aimingtoattackthefundamental
problems.Itintegratesandbuildsuponthespecializedknowledgeofthedomains,butalwaysattemptingtoprovide
practicalsolutionsthatareofvaluetodayratherthanrelievingsymptoms.

DesignXisparticularlysuitedtoandspecificallyaimedatproblemsinvolvingamixofhumanandsocietalneedswhere
solutionsinvolvetechnology.Mostoftheseproblemsinvolvenetworkedsystemsofpeople,groups,andartifacts,
includingintelligentsystems,partiallyorfullyautomated,withdifferentlevelsofcommunicationamongcomponents.
DesignXfocusesontheresultingcomplexmixofnetworkednaturalandartificialsystems.

Complexproblemsrequirecomplexsolutions.Toaccomplishthisrequiresateamcomposedofallthedisciplines
relevanttounderstandingtheissuesandpotentialsolutions.Teamsmustbeproblembased,withalltherequired
membersbringingtheirtalentstobearontheprobleminacohesiveandcollaborativeway.DesignXdesignersmust
workcloselywithpeoplefrommanydisciplines,buildingupontheirknowledgeandmethods,applyingwhichevermethod
ismosteffectivefortheproblemathand,negotiatingthemultipleconstraints,interests,anddifferingperspectivesofall
theparticipants.

DesignXrequiresskills,knowledge,andavocabularythatenableittoengageeffectivelywithstakeholdersand
professionalsofmanykinds.Design,asafield,hasamixedsetoftechniques.Somearebasedonscienceand
experiment,butmuchstillreliesontheskill,wisdom,andcreativityofthedesigners.Tobesuccessful,DesignX
requiresalargersetoftechniquesthathavebeenverifiedandtested,whichmeansanemphasisuponevidencebased
design.Somemethodswillbebaseduponandconstructedthroughscientificinvestigation.Otherswillbeframeworks
anddesignpatterns.Stillotherswillbeheuristicsforcontinualrefinementandevaluationtoensurethatthestrengths,
weaknesses,andappropriatesituationsforapplicationareknown,understood,andverified.

Problemsaremorevolatilethaneverbefore,andinformationoftenchangesfasterthanitcanbevalidated.Thisiswhy
weneedanewresearchtraditiontoexploretheissuesinvolvedinmodelsofeducationaswellasmodelsofpractice.
Weneedatheoreticalfoundationtosupportnewwaysofresearchandeducation.Weneedaninnovativeandinclusive
socialecosystemtoenabletheapplicationofnewknowledgeandmethodsforpositivesocialandeconomicchange.
Andweneedtodevelopnewmethodsofexperimentationtoallowrapidassessment,test,anddeploymentof
prototypes,testtrials,andevenmock"solutions,"thebettertogiverapidfeedbackandallowforrepeatediterations
towardsuperiorresults.Themantrashouldbe"learnfast,learncontinuously."

Educationmustalsochange.Today,universitiesarefocusedupondisciplinebasededucationthatnolongersufficesto
dealwithlarge,complexproblemsthatinvolvemultipledisciplines,technology,art,thesocialsciences,politics,and
business.Weneedrobust,newmodelsforeducation,somebasedupondisciplinaryskills,othersbaseduponproblems
ratherthandisciplines,whereexpertsandstudentsfrommanybackgroundsworktogetheronaspecificissue.This
requiresaddingproblembasededucationtotheexistingemphasisupondisciplines.

Itisimportanttostrengthendialoguebetweenthemultipleculturesoftheworld.Itistimetoemphasizeworldwide
conditionsthatwillprovidesustainabilitywithalternativemeasuresofqualityandperformancethatmovebeyond
systemsrequiringhighenergyandresourceconsumption.

Weseekaradicalreformationofdesignpractice,education,andresearch.Itistimeforaneweraofdesignactivism.

Formore,see"WhyDesignX(http://tinyurl.com/mckton4?)"

*Ajointstatement,writtenby"TheDesignCollaborative,"authoredby(inalphabeticalorder):Ken
Friedman(TongjiUniversity,CollegeofDesignandInnovationandSwinburneUniversityCentreforDesign
 Innovation),YongqiLou(Tongji),DonNorman(UniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego,DesignLab),PieterJan
Stappers(DelftUniversityofTechnology,FacultyofIndustrialDesignEngineering),EnaVote(Delft),and
PatrickWhitney(IllinoisInstituteofTechnology,InstituteofDesign).Contact
email:designxcollaborative@gmail.com (https://mail.google.com/mail/?
view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&to=designxcollaborative@gmail.com)

ThishasbeenpublishedonLinkedIn,withtwointerestingphotos:http://tinyurl.com/designxstatement
(http://tinyurl.com/designxstatement).

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Books
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TheDesignofEverydayThings,RevisedandExpandedEdition(http://www.jnd.org/books/designofeverydaythings
revised.html)
Livingwithcomplexity(http://www.jnd.org/books/livingwithcomplexity.html)
TheDesignofFutureThings(http://www.jnd.org/books/thedesignoffuturethings.html)
EmotionalDesign:Whywelove(orhate)everydaythings(http://www.jnd.org/books/emotionaldesignwhyweloveor
hateeverydaythings.html)
Theinvisiblecomputer(http://www.jnd.org/books/theinvisiblecomputer.html)
ThingsThatMakeusSmart:DefendingHumanAttributesintheAgeoftheMachine
(http://www.jnd.org/books/thingsthatmakeussmartdefendinghumanattributesintheageofthemachine.html)
TurnSignalsAretheFacialExpressionsofAutomobiles(http://www.jnd.org/books/turnsignalsarethefacial
expressionsofautomobiles.html)
TheDesignofEverydayThings(http://www.jnd.org/books/thedesignofeverydaythings.html)

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