Design Paper #4January 2014

SOCIAL DESIGN

by:Jocelyn Bailey

Case Studies:Design CouncilDesign 4 Social ChangeDesign Against Crime Research CentreUscreates and NHS Birmingham

2 3Design Paper #4 January 2014

For most people design means ‘stuff ’: the objects and environments that shape and furnish our daily lives. At a push, this might be expanded to include more intangible things we interact with, such as services. But historically, design has been seen as a process that mediates between technology and society, and it has mainly been deployed by businesses for commercial gain: to create innovations that make one company’s ‘stuff ’ different to, or better than another’s.

Over the past couple of decades we have seen design doing something very different: mediating between people and applying itself to challenges where the material and the aims are social, rather than object-centric and commercially motivated. The phenomenon of social innovation – innovation driven by social demands, rather than market forces – has !"#$#%&'"&(&$#)&*!+,(-&%#*,.$&/#-%0&12,*&,*&$!3&necessarily a new discipline, but rather an increasing tendency for designers to apply themselves to social challenges, and for non-designers to use design methods to tackle social problems.

So why now? Social media and new communica-tion channels, the global challenge of achieving environmental and social sustainability, and the failure of governments all over the world to successfully 3(+4-#&+!5"-#6&"7!8-#5*9&2(*&-#%&3!&(&:!'7,*2,$.&!;&social innovation. In other words, people are now more empowered to seek solutions themselves, rather than waiting for the state or big business to do it. They might also be more likely to want to address social issues: an increasingly complex global community drives us to focus our efforts on the problems we can see, feel, and meaningfully affect.

12#*#&+!$%,3,!$*&(7#&$!3&*"#+,/+&3!&32#&<=9& but are underlined by our political and design history. Our design community has a strong track record in considering the social impact of its work: the

Helen Hamlyn Centre, for example, has long been a leader in the practice of inclusive design. However, we have also encouraged our design community, predominantly through public spending, to focus on social challenges. In particular, organisations like Nesta and the Design Council have directed funding 3!)(7%*&%#*,.$&;!7&2#(-329&3!&/.23&+7,5#&($%&3!&*!->#&issues of community relations, thereby supporting the blossoming and visibility of a socially-oriented design community.

This is an exciting development, and controversial. On the one hand, we should encourage designers, with their command of creativity, to apply themselves to something other than the creation of objects. But on the other hand, there are plenty of professionals who would already lay claim to that role of mediating between people, and facilitating social innovation.

And there are a few hurdles. First, practicing design in a social context demands a deeper engage-ment with ethics and an understanding of society. There is a difference between, for example, working out what kind of hairdryer a particular customer will buy, and working out how the National Health Service ought to deal with chronic alcoholism. Although both present interesting design problems, in the latter the designer must be far more thoughtful about their own prejudices and assumptions, and the implications of design decisions. Some practitioners and academics ,$&32#&<=&2(>#&(-7#(%?&*3(73#%&)!74,$.&!$&32,*9&($%&there is much more that designers can learn from *!+,(-&*+,#$+#&/#-%*&(8!'3&32#&#32,+(-&@'(.5,7#&!;&‘intervening’.

Social design also implies a different kind of designer: as opposed to the stereotypical ‘star designer’, ,3&7#@',7#*&5!7#&2'58-#&"#7*!$(-,3,#*9&(8-#&3!&;(+,-,3(3#&the creativity of others and apply their skills in multi-disciplinary teams with a range of other experts.

left & below:Knee High Design ChallengeCourtesy: Design Council

Jocelyn Bailey explores how designers engage with social issues and considers why this approach has become so prevalent in the UK now.

Social Design

4 5Design Paper #4 January 2014

So Prakash, and her agency D4SC, launched a mobile platform which crowdsources problem hotspots and attempts to help solve them. Better than writing fruitlessly to the local authority or a Member of Parliament, Changify helps communities become 5!7#&*#-;A*';/+,#$30

Changify joins the dots: from walking down the street and spotting something that you want to change, ,55#%,(3#-?&*2(7,$.&,3&($%&32#$&*'..#*3,$.&!7&/$%,$.&solutions from peers, through to building support and backing with neighbours, councils, local business and brands to make the change happen.

D4SC applies a systems design approach to the problem of engaging in public life, making it social rather than hierarchical. They have thought very +(7#;'--?&(8!'3&32#&@'(-,3?&!;&%,;;#7#$3&,$3#7;(+#*B&;!7&#6(5"-#&+2!!*,$.&(&%#-,8#7(3#-?&-!A/9&,$&%#>#-!"5#$3&look for the mobile platform to encourage the sense of being part of an emerging community.

D4SC also have an interesting business model: 32#?&(7#&(&;!7A"7!/3&*!+,(-&,5"(+3&8'*,$#**0&C2($.,;?&creates revenue through chargeable events, commis-sion on projects, and subscriptions from brands, local businesses, and councils. There’s a lesson in here for social design entrepreneurs: don’t be afraid of revenue.

Design Against Crime Research CentreBikeoff

Many of the most ambitious and inspiring social design projects emerge from higher education, undoubtedly because of the experimentation that academia can encourage. End-of-year shows such as SustainRCA suggest that design schools could be important incubators for social innovation activists. In fact, such

12#&/$(-&!8>,!'*&%,;;#7#$+#&,*&32#&$(3'7#&!;&32#&%#*,.$#7A+-,#$3&7#-(3,!$*2,"9&($%&32#&@'#*3,!$&!;&D)2!&pays?’ – especially now that public money isn’t so plentiful. The austerity drive by the current Coalition government has indeed spelled the end of some social design agencies, or at least refocused them on commercial projects. There seems to be a widespread business model problem – of how to make social design work pay. It may be that British designers must look elsewhere to examples of social innovation in cultures where the state has not been such a domi-nant player.

Design CouncilKnee High Design Challenge

Social design often takes the form of small local community-focused interventions, such as the tempo-rary lido by architecture collective Exyzt, or design practice Something & Son’s urban Farm Shop, that sells what it grows. The Design Council has picked up on this emerging ‘hyper-local’ trend with one !;&,3*&+'77#$3&"7!E#+3*9&32#&=$##&F,.2&G#*,.$&C2(--#$.#0

Instead of picking a problem and solving it them-selves – or even running a co-design process – the Design Council, working with Guy’s and St Thomas’s Charity, have crowdsourced ideas to improve the 2#(-32&($%&)#--8#,$.&!;&+2,-%7#$&'$%#7&/>#&-,>,$.& in South London. They put out a call for ideas based on three key briefs: getting out of the house and staying connected with the outside world; bringing more play into family life; and helping parents deal with stress and anxiety.

This is obviously an issue that resonates: they 7#+#,>#%&!>#7&HIJ&(""-,+(3,!$*9&;7!5&32#&<=&($%&abroad, not only from design agencies, but from

charities, city farmers, local councils, entrepreneurs, nannies and theatre groups. The range of ideas was extremely broad: from a sleep aid in the shape of an owl, to camping experiences for dads in local parks, and from musical theatre that starts conversations about post-natal depression, to a bus that truly under - *3($%*&32#&'$,@'#&$##%*&!;&+2,-%7#$&($%&32#,7&;(5,-,#*0

The best 25 ideas will be supported with funding and mentoring (by designers, entrepreneurs, psychol-ogists and healthcare professionals) to develop into the next round. The ultimate goal is to collaboratively design and innovate a new range of services and social networks for South London families. It’s an interesting new modus operandi for the Design Council, and a good demonstration of the multi-disci-plinary nature of social design.

Design 4 Social ChangeChangify

It’s obvious to say, but social design projects succeed best when they build on people’s natural inclinations. Initiatives such as Room for Tea, Good Gym, and WhipCar harness people’s innate desire to contribute to their community, and turn it into an opportunity for exchange.

Changify does a similar thing, providing a better way for citizens to improve their own neighbourhoods. It was started by designer and entrepreneur, Priya K7(4(*29&)2!&@',3&2#7&E!8&(3&L!4,(&($%&-('$+2#%& (&$#)&"7!E#+3&,$&(&/3&!;&",@'#&(8!'3&32#&"!32!-#*&!$&her road, which made cycling very dangerous. She couldn’t get the local authority to do anything about it, and thus spotted a gap in the market for a simple system that anyone can use to suggest improvements to the place they live.

left:Changify is a mobile app that allows people to tackle problems in their own neighbour-hood, Design 4 Social ChangePhotos: D4SC

right: The Blabr Bike Stand by Magnus Pettersen, Design Against Crime Research CentrePhotos: Magnus Pettersen

is the perceived power of design education for social innovation that Italian academic Ezio Manzini has instigated a new international institution, the DESIS (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability) network, whose vision is to develop this capacity further.

M$#&!;&32#&GNOPO&D-(8*Q&,$&32#&<=&,*&8(*#%& at Central St Martins, and is run by the Design Against Crime Research Centre, whose leaders have been practicing social design for years. One of DAC’s :(.*2,"&"7!E#+3*&,*&R,4#!;;9&)2,+2&!>#7&*#>#7(-&?#(7*&has been working to improve cycling infrastructure and reduce cycle theft, to ultimately encourage more people to cycle. Started in response to new policing targets around bike crime, DAC worked with the police, local government, cycling groups, and designers to explore both why people cycle and how they secure their bikes, and how designers and public authorities (%%7#**&8,4#&*#+'7,3?0&12#,7&7#*#(7+2&/--#%&(&$'58#7& of knowledge gaps and in so doing improved the innovative and operational capacity of everyone involved in cycling. This knowledge-bank has been the basis for many other projects, including a Cycle Centre of Excellence and cycle security design challenges.

DAC uses an ‘iterative practice-led user-centred design model’, developed over several years for delivering design-led social innovation. They insist that the design principles of “empathy, collaboration, visualisation and communication, synthesis and iteration” are crucial in allowing them to work openly with a wide variety of stakeholders. They also used ‘slow-prototyping’; developing the capacities of the "#!"-#&7#@',7#%&3!&%#-,>#7&32#&!'3+!5#&327!'.2!'3&the project.

Although, admittedly, Bikeoff conversations revolve around the design of physical things (new bike

6 7Design Paper #4 January 2014

stands for example), Bikeoff ’s power has been as a convenor of people who wouldn’t otherwise collabo-rate on a problem, as a space for open social innovation, and a repository of knowledge.

Uscreates and NHS BirminghamCheck You Out

Social design has a natural home in public services, where the nature of problems and the material for solving them are often behavioural and social. However applying design to solve problems is still a relatively untested concept for most public bodies. <*+7#(3#*&,*&!$#&!;&(&2($%;'-&!;&(.#$+,#*&37?,$.& to do just that. In this example, they worked with the National Health Service Birmingham East and North on a campaign (Check You Out) to increase Chlamydia testing amongst young people.

C2-(5?%,(&,*&*!5#32,$.&!;&(&@',#3&$(3,!$(-&#5#7.#$+?&;!7&32#&<=0&S&*'8*3($3,(-&"7!"!73,!$& of young adults become infected each year, and most of them won’t realise because it is often symptomless. Once diagnosed it is easily treated – left undiagnosed it can cause serious health problems.

As the target group here was 15-24 year olds, (3&32#&!'3*#3&<*+7#(3#*&+!$>#$#%&(&)!74,$.&.7!'"&!;&young adults, initially asking them to help identify the barriers on the path to getting tested and treated. But as the project evolved the working group became ambassadors, and key to the whole delivery. Collabo-rative design methods allowed this group to take ownership of idea generation, development and implementation, and much of the ultimate success of the campaign relied on it being peer-to-peer.

The ambassadors ran a Facebook page with information about the infection and how to get tested,

right: The Check You Out free cinema night was a particular successPhotos: Uscreates

(&/-5&+!5"#3,3,!$&)2#7#&32#&),$$#7*&*"#$3&(&%(?& with a professional production company, and a free cinema night, where those who attended were given popcorn in return for a completed test (‘Wee for a goody bag’).

Needless to say these tactics differ wildly to the standard practices of the National Health Service. The campaign worked because it used appropriate communication channels and tone of voice to reach the target audience. The cinema night in particular was a great success, achieving a 100% screening rate amongst those who attended. The project also gener-ated new material for the National Health Service to use long term, such as postcards written by the young ambassadors to be sent out with free testing kits.

This recognition that social problems usually 7#@',7#&*!+,(-&*!-'3,!$*9&.#$#7(3#%&+!--(8!7(3,>#-?& – and not ones imposed from the top-down – is at the heart of social design practice.

top to bottom: Materials produced for the Check You Out campaign with the Young AmbassadorsPhotos: Uscreates

Author:

Jocelyn Bailey is a consultant at BOP Consulting, a research company specialising in strategic support for the creative and cultural sector. She is also a Visiting Scholar at the V&A, working on a project for the Arts & Humanities Research Council, mapping social design research and practice. Previously she led the manufacturing, design and innovation team at Westminster think tank Policy Connect, building a body of research and an agenda on design policy for Parliament. A trained architect, Jocelyn recently completed an MA in History of Art. She is also a fellow of the RSA, )!74,$.&"7!&8!$!&;!7&<L&T!5#$&<=&*'""!73,$.&32#,7&+!55'$,+(-tions strategy.

Links:

G#*,.$&C!'$+,-&U&=$##&F,.2 Design Challengedesigncouncil.org.uk/kneehigh

Changifychangify.org

Bikeoffwww.bikeoff.org

Check You Out;(+#8!!40+!5V"(.#*VCFNC=A WM<AM<1VHXIYZ[YJX\J[

Exyztexyzt.org

Something & Sonsomethingandson.com

Further Reading:

‘Collaborative Services: Social Innovation and Design for Sustain-ability’, François Jégou and N],!&^($],$,&_ONK&K!73(-9&ZJJY`

‘Social Design Methods Menu’, a'+?&=,58#--&($%&b!#&b'-,#7& (Fieldstudio, 29 November 2012)

Design Transitions: Inspiring Stories.

Global Viewpoints. How Design is

Changing, Joyce Lee, Emma Jeffries and Lauren Tan (BIS Publishers, 2013)

‘A Typology of Social Design’, Report from Social Design Talk 1, from Cameron Tonkinwise (Social Design Talks, 13 March 2012)

‘Mapping Social Design Practice: R#?!$%&32#&1!!-4,3Q9&a'+?&=,58#--&(AHRC Mapping Social Design Project, 19 November 2013)

Cyclehoop for signposts. Courtesy of Design Against Crime Research Centre

ADF Papers:

ADF Papers explore new directions in British architecture, design and fashion. They are available online at Back of the Envelope blog www.britishcouncil.org/design.

ADF Papers are published by the British Council’s Architecture, Design, Fashion department; designed by objectif, and printed on Colorplan paper by GF Smith.

12#&R7,3,*2&C!'$+,-&,*&32#&<=Q*&international organisation for cultural relations. In the Architecture, Design, Fashion department we develop exhibitions, events and collaborations linking designers and cultural institutions around the world.

Cover illustration: