It’s a new year with new trends, insights, and all future-related materials, which tell you that your customers expect increasingly more sustainable solutions from you. And if not them, at least do it for the planet. Maybe your organizations' pathway to sustainability is clear but if not, like for most, here are some ways you can make change for the better.
Meet our curator of the month
Juha is a Helsinki-based service designer with a passion for big questions and sustainable solutions. Juha believes design has the capability to shed light in between and beyond utopias and dystopias which stagnate us from taking action to save the planet. Juha thinks that the earth's crisis is too big of a gamble to sit back and wait for someone else to take action. Their latest interest is to understand changing the foundations of design and business choices by reassessing our nature relationship.
To change the way I see myself and my impact as a designer, Otto Schamer’s Theory U has been one of the most helpful theories. Scharmer’s work builds on decades of research on innovation done at MIT.
To make space for actionable futures thinking Bridget McKenzie, the founding director of low Associates & Climate Museum, U.K introduces in this article a concept what they call “Possitopian futures”. The goal of Possitopian approach is to drive action on sustainability by expanding our view to possible futures between and beyond the stagnating extreme future views with more fractional futures thinking and scenario building. To expand our view of possibilities the Possitopian approach utilises designerly ways of working like visual expression, and systems mapping.
On a more practical level behavioral design is my go to solution when thinking about how to enable sustainable behavior in organisations and for consumers. This post summarises well some key tactics to get started with behavioral design.
Many efficiency-improving “sustainability” innovations still end up creating only more efficient extraction of earth’s resources resulting in rising emissions and increasing biodiversity loss. When thinking of sustainability innovation, it’s critical to judge which direction it fuels the total development of the earth crisis. Jason Hickel sheds light on where we need innovation and growth e.g. in renewable energy and where not e.g. in fast fashion.
What would you have wanted to tell yourself 5 years back (A different way of asking)
Be you. It’s the richness of diversity which fuels the humanity.
One thing you would recommend all designers to try out?
Shout out for sustainability.
Biggest learning during your career
Less is more
Join us!
Digital designers
From gathering insights and building concepts to prototyping interactions and defining visual language, advocating the user needs throughout, you will play an important role as a Digital designer at Futurice.
Do you like to play a key role as a hands-on practitioner, in helping the world's leading businesses develop compelling and well-thought-out design solutions ?