This blog is written by one of 15 individuals attending the South By Southwest Conference in Austin with the intention to bring back ideas and to reimagine Richland County.
Design thinking is critical to any meaningful and lasting change we try to effect.
If I took anything away from today’s sessions, it is a reinforcement of design as the underpinning of all our undertakings. Whether it is buildings, objects, public spaces, processes, or systems, without design thinking we will continue to come up with ineffectual ideas that do not meet the needs of the very people it meant to serve.
It can be easy to lose sight of this fact. So many designs focus solely on aesthetics or function without considering the people that have to use it or the effects that it will have on the surrounding community or the public at large.
While all four of the sessions I attended today covered a diverse range of design disciplines. They all came back to this underlying idea of design first. Specifically, Human Centered Design. Emphasizing that design is not the outcome, but the process.
Design needs to be ethical, participatory, and iterative.
It is not enough to create beautiful objects or accomplish certain results if the design does harm. According to Dr. Melis Senova, design has a “shadow side” it that it can cause harm in one of three ways: naturally, accidentally, or willfully.
It is important to acknowledge this and allow it to inform our design decisions. There must also be a way to evaluate the impact of design. Often times this can mean identifying the stakeholders and other fields of study that may have something to contribute.
Beau Frail, of Activate Architecture emphasized this participatory aspect of design with several case studies of projects that engaged the community for whom the design would be actualized. By encouraging the community to be involved, there is a stronger sense of ownership and it brings dignity to the participants.
It is important that a solution is not rushed. All too often, as was discussed in the Choice Architects panel, solutions are presented before the problem is fully understood. Identifying a problem gives the design solution direction and purpose. Problem alignment must come before solutions.
As we look to define what the future of Mansfield could be, I think it is important to keep in mind the idea of Harold Nelson that design is the conveyor of soul. Unbound by time, place, or material.
Stay tuned and follow the progress via #SXSW419. Or watch for more blogs starting Saturday, March 10 at richlandsource.com/rising_from_rust/sxsw.
