TRANSFORMATIONS: 7 Roles to Drive Change by Design

Using design as a Cultural Catalyst stimulates cultures to change through a clear focus on peoples’ needs and deep empathy as a means of approaching sensitive, cultural challenges.

Using design as a Framework Maker, offers visualised and tangible markers of progress and prototypes, which help to create a pragmatic, purposeful conversation, which in turn drives the human-centred initiatives forward.

Using design as a Humaniser injects empathy into the process, creating a human dimension to the work and making business challenges easier to relate to and engage in. It also creates an approachable and inspiring change narrative centred around the purpose of serving real human needs.

Using design as a Power Broker leverages the 'perceived' independence of the design profession and its focus on the user as the ultimate reference point. This has the capacity to diffuse tensions and realign internal teams around a common goal.

Using design as a Friendly Challenger creates an environment where it is the norm to question basic assumptions, critique each-others’ work constructively and champion the search for the best possible (feasible, viable, desirable) solution.

Using design as a Technology Enabler ensures technology is useful by emphasising the usability of the systems in place in order to maximise engagement, reduce errors and increase satisfaction of the systems’ users.

Using design as a Community Builder creates conditions for the community to come together by providing a safe, open atmosphere with the users and people involved. Design provides tools and techniques that offer an instant feedback loop for the participants to respond to, in effect creating a fuel for the community to coalesce and work together.

Joyce Yee, PhD

Joyce is a design researcher, author and designer. She is currently an Associate Professor at the UK’s Northumbria University’s Design School teaching interaction, service and innovation approaches across undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Transformations is a natural follow up to her previous book, Design Transitions, a book about how design practices are changing. She has over 15 years working experience in a wide range of academic and professional environments as a user researcher and as an interaction and service designer. Joyce’s research is focused on the value, role and impact of design in organisational contexts.

Emma Jefferies, PhD

Emma is a business coach and service designer, and is the co-author of the book ‘Design Transitions’ (BIS, 2013). She holds a PhD in design and is part of the Design Thinkers Group. Her natural habitat is out in the wild, working with global innovation teams, consultancies and governments in South America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Emma helps organisations become more productive by facilitating people in working together to reveal a core purpose, daily practices and a vision. She is currently working with a UK government department creating empathy practices.

Kamil Michlewski, PhD

Kamil is a brand strategy and innovation consultant, author and speaker. He is currently working as a Senior Innovation Consultant at Human Innovation. Kamil was awarded a PhD on the subject of design and business in 2006. Over the last 10 years he has been helping blue-chip clients such as Electronic Arts, Marriott, Nestle, Sony, and Visa with challenges ranging from category growth and brand positioning to human-centred innovation. In 2015 Kamil published a book titled ‘Design Attitude’, which explores the nuances of design in the context of innovation and organisational cultures.