What is a designerly change agent?
The term is a bit jargony, but captures a powerful combination of ideas.
- Change agent: someone, an organisation, or even a system, that acts to engender change in the world:
- We use the term with the assumption that the change is for the better, and that change is directed according to ethical principals.
- Intentional goal-oriented change is hard. Change happens all the time, often in an uncoordinated and ill-directed manner. Change agents aim to stimulate and guide change more effectively.
- Designerly refers to doing change using the concepts, techniques, tools, and attitudes of designers (what has become known as Design Thinking):
- The practices used by successful designers in many fields have been researched (by anthropologists), and shown to have characteristics that make them especially good at stimulating and directing change.
- For example, there are four kinds of knowing involved, and the ability to switch modes as required.
- Designers continue to develop these practices, especially through new digital tools.
- A key development in recent years has been the idea that we should design with people, not for them. The end users are the experts, and we should develop their capabilities for designing.
- Two things we know are key to successful desiging are: clarity of collective purpose; a strong sense of what is virtuous, what we think of as a good design and its impacts. The ability to explore, develop, share, and apply this ethical aspect when making design decisions is integral to designerliness.
Designerly change agency is a practice made up of lots of aspects synthesised together. Like any complex practice it needs to be continually exercised and refined. Reflection is essential to it. We need to often stop and review what we are doing, think, look to improve.
Role models
Dr Kenielwe Munyai, Cape Town, South Africa
"My work involves designing and running programmes in design thinking’s human-centred approach to innovation for students, educators and professionals in the public, private and development sectors."
Kenielwe bridges academic design research, teaching, and work in communities across Africa. Out of this, she developed the idea that design experts need to "design with" communities, rather than the conventional "design for" approach.
In Spring 2021 Keneilwe led a workshop online for Design Thinking students at Warwick.
Catherine Allen, CEO Limina Immersive, UK
Catherine is a BAFTA-winning, immersive media specialist and the founder of Limina Immersive. A Warwick Theatre Studies graduate, she has been responsible for a range of high profile digital entertainment products and has worked with major brands including Disney, Siemens and the BBC. Catherine's expertise spans across the fields of: virtual reality; augmented reality; industry inclusivity & diversity. She was one of the authors of the influential Vision for Women and VR.
Her work has attracted audiences in the millions. Projects have been successful with audiences ranging from young families to history enthusiasts to millennial women. Catherine now runs Limina Immersive, an event design, research and consultancy company. A good example of Limina's work is the Immersive Content Formats fo Future Audiences report, a design framework for content creators, investors, funders and event programmers. Using designerly approaches, Limina perfected a design for bringing VR to the public through beautifully designed VR "screenings".
Catherine is a BAFTA VR associate and regularly keynotes, judges and mentors at industry events, contributing towards her goal of supporting the healthy growth of an emergent immersive media industry.
Listen to a lecture by Catherine for Introduction to Design Thinking.
Mark and Sarah Worth, Highly Sprung Performance, Coventry, UK
