The Power of Design: Milking the Clouds, Bringing Water to The Desert

(via @vanderbeeken )
The intention is that the cards are useful at the idea generation stage of the design process, helping designers, clients and – perhaps most importantly – potential users themselves explore behaviour change concepts from a number of disciplines, and think about how they might relate to the problem at hand. Judging by the impact of earlier iterations, the cards could also be useful in stakeholder workshops, and design / technology / computer science education.
Developed by Continuum together with the Rockefeller Foundation during the Design For Social Impact Workshop in Bellagio, Italy; this document contains valuable insights in what it takes to enable designers to approach and solve social issues.
(via @saulpims)
Earlier this year The Guardian in association with the Service Design Network published a supplement on service design titled: Design Innovation In The Public & Private Sectors. This article was sponsored by five organisations from very different industries all with service at the core of their philosophies: University SCAD; service design consultancy Engine, innovation and design consultancy Continuum, the Design Council and [yes] the multinational fast-food chain McDonald's.
It is a great first try and let us hope will not be the last time this topical subject comes to the mainstream (even after the elections). Once you've read this, move to Service Design Goes Mainstream, a great blog post by service designer Paul Sims from digital agency Made by Many, who I had the pleasure to interview for my MA dissertation.
DESIS is a network of schools of design and other schools, institutions, companies and non-profit organizations interested in promoting and supporting design for social innovation and sustainability. It is a light, no-profit organization, conceived as a network of partners collaborating in a peer-to-peer spirit.It is articulated in several DESIS-Local (that are sub-networks within a specified local area). DESIS-International is therefore the framework where the different DESIS-Local coordinate themselves and where some global initiatives are taken.
1. Fostering social innovation and sustainability by taking part in support projects and programs,gathering together and offering greater visibility to significant cases.2. Promoting design for social innovation both within and outside the design community, developing appropriate design tools and organizing cultural and didactic activities.3. Fostering the circulation of ideas and experiences
(via @fergusbisset)
‘Through this report we’ve engaged some of the leading people in design, engaged parliamentarians from all parties. But the coming election poses a real challenge. The composition of the house will be changed fundamentally. Design is at the very heart of most of what we do as civilised human beings, and we’ve got to engage the people who run this country in a more meaningful way.