Designing for the inevitable
What if we lived in a World where designs always reached their potential? As designers, we are familiar with the standard obstacles: constraints, deadlines and budgets. But what impact do our unconscious design decisions have on the lifecycles, application and value of our work?
What are the unintended consequences of our designs? Who do they exclude? And are they designed to last?
While asking and answering these questions may inform our future design decisions, for them to be effective we need buy in from our clients, stakeholders and decision makers.
Design comes from empathy. For our designs to realise their potential now and in the future, we need to consider how we design in the full context of lifespan – both of our projects and our users. We need to think past the here and now to support users outside of our target demographics. Context is fluid and always changing, our designs must reflect this.
This speech will explore how designers can step outside the constraints of ‘the box’ and ideate on the bigger picture.