Unlearning the Learning One interesting way to judge an innovation’s impact is to examine its linguistic influence. It’s a bit like the ripples made by a pebble dropped into a pond, the force and scale of the ripples say something about the pebble. The Hoover brand not only became synonymous with vacuum cleaners in general …
You can’t design guaranteed outcomes in a complex living system but you can maximise the likelihood of a good experience. The challenge for the designer is this: experience is highly subjective and filtered through an emotional lens over which we rarely (if ever) have complete control. With practice, we can tune into this “engine” and …
The Science of Improvisation When you hold space for others you are holding space for yourself at the same time, because you are fully present in the moment and open to emerging possibilities. It’s not about planning every last detail because there is no “plan” as such in the here and now; there is only …
The Creativity Conundrum We’ve previously blogged about the idea that we’re all born with the instinct to make sense of the world around us by practising playful creativity. That’s all well and good but where does the sustained need come from and what it has to do with our health and state of mind? By …
Creating Value There’s an old saying that goes something like, “a problem shared is a problem halved”. The implication being that two people, in this case, can share the emotional burden of a difficult situation through conversation. This may be the glass-half-full version of what it means to connect. It might be more meaningful to …
Language Creates Reality Have you ever paused to consider what is language? It’s clearly more than just the articulation of spoken and written words. Language elucidates the unimaginable; triggers and soothes feelings; connects minds. It can open doors and burn bridges. In fact, the way we use language shapes our world in so many ways …
Designed to Move Humanity is part of nature. It sounds an obvious thing to say but, judging from the global trend of increasing urbanisation and tendency to live our lives away from nature, it’s worth reminding ourselves. We are designed to move, to cultivate. When we move, our mind and body function at full capacity. …
Peace Without During the lockdown, we also explored how visualisation helps tackle intergenerational trauma and build bridges for understanding its inherited (and often buried) sources. Data visualisation helps us construct mental models to make sense of fragmented narratives and trust the veracity of our lived experiences. Since none of us is born with self-doubt and …
What Happens to Us Stays Inside What causes conflict in life? This deceptively simple question could be the ultimate design challenge in terms of threats to our happiness and wellbeing. Think about the situations where conflict surfaces most often: families, neighbourhoods, communities, organisations and, indeed, all over the world. There is an obvious common denominator. …
The Cost of Entertainment We either create value or die. Black lives really do matter … but why? In the 21st century, our awareness of some of the most pernicious social diseases is rising and gaining momentum. The dehumanisation of others for entertainment and trade is amongst the oldest of these inflictions because it is …
