5 facts about the curator
- How did you end up being a designer?
After working for 15+ years in the world of sustainable development and international development finance, I was hungry for something new that would help to raise my ambition. Instead of lukewarm consensus, I wanted to know how to push things forward: find new tools and methods for co-creating actionable solutions toward a more just and equitable world.
I had accidentally read an article about service design and found the word in Finnish perplexing. With a good friend of mine, we encouraged each other to apply to a service design master’s program without any actual prior experience or much research about the topic. And we both got in! As soon as my studies started, it was love at first sight. I was hooked from day one. This was the framework - process, tools, and thinking - I had been looking for. Something I could apply to different sectors and challenges. It has been a whirlwind of a learning journey ever since.
- How did you end up in your current role as a senior service designer?
I got so incredibly lucky to do my service design master’s thesis as part of Futurice’s responsibility program Chilicorn Fund. Together with a group of amazing people, some of whom are now my colleagues, we organized a series of workshops that looked at how AI could be used for building peace.
Project Peace Machine resulted in a thesis on opportunities and responsible design of AI in peace technology. It also gave me a sneak peek into what kind of company Futurice is - the values, the people, and the culture. I immediately liked what I saw.
So as I pivoted my career from international development into service design, Futurice was always on my dream job list. After gaining valuable experience working as a service designer “full-stack” for some years, doing everything from communications and marketing to employee experience and legal design projects, I found my way home to Futurice in November 2021.
- Name one superpower that makes you different from the others.
Living in different countries, encountering people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, and engaging with policymakers both at home and internationally, has given me a unique perspective. It has taught me how to look at the big picture, take action, build solutions, and influence things with the mandate and opportunities that I have.
Hands-on knowledge about the everyday life of people living in developing countries like Mozambique or China has helped to hone my insight and empathy capabilities as a designer. I do my best to never assume, but always ask, observe, test, and create safe spaces for meaningful participation. With a prior degree in cultural anthropology, designing “with” rather than “for” the people is in my nature.
- Something you feel very grateful for when looking back on your career.
The courage to take the leap and the courage of other people to trust my abilities as a designer are the two things I am most grateful for.
Service design for me is characterized by constantly taking a leap of faith into something new and exciting. Luckily throughout my career, I have been blessed with people that took me under their wing - whether it is supervisors, more experienced fellow designers, customers, or partners. Collaboration, co-creation, and learning from each person and experience that comes my way have been the absolute best. I strive to maintain that sense of curiosity and mutual learning in all my projects.
- One thing you would recommend all designers to try out?
Sometimes your greatest superpower as a service designer comes from asking questions. Even the “stupid” ones. You really don’t have to know the answers. In fact, it is often better that you don’t. Your role is to facilitate and trust the process that will result in finding the right questions. And the answers to them. You also need to find ways to make others trust that process as well.
Coming from an expert background - knowing a whole lot about one sector - this is a lesson learned that I keep reminding myself. My value-added as a designer is based on methodological expertise that can be applied to all kinds of topics: from solving the unprecedentedly complex problems of our time to creating excellent customer experiences at digital touch points.
Don’t be afraid to test the superpowers of design in areas that are new to you. Hope the articles in this newsletter provoke ideas and inspiration on how to incorporate sustainability and ethics into your design projects.