There is no spoon – The endpoint of design is the use of the objects. Our life.

01|09|11

Department of Design | Introduction to Joint Master Studies ’11

01|09|11

Department of Design | Introduction to Joint Master Studies ’11

A. The truth is that group intelligence and co-creation beat individual effort. Therefore must take seriously the paradox of collaboration: group intelligence needs diverse point of views, but working with diversity is, well, hard work. The key to success is to organise the work so that it becomes a combination of play and improvisation and delivery.

B. The truth is that designers impact people's behaviour and lifestyle. Designers role is therefore to help people make better decision. This is the new definition of human-centric design. Designers should focus on wicked problems, not just everyday problems. By creating new lifestyles and helping people adopt new behaviours one can create new business. This is the way profits and planet can co-exist.

C. The truth is out there. There are people whom know people better than we. Designers can not do it alone. Real change happens when we involve gatekeepers of in our designs. Gatekeepers are professionals, peer groups and communities that have a big impact on people's lifestyles. To create a successful product or service one must find the gatekeepers of its success. People who can make it fly, recommend it, create conditions for it. When design become re-desiging lifestyles we need to find out whom else you need for the change to happen and involve them (advertising, teachers, shop owners, mothers, car drivers, policymakers, existing communities).

D. The truth is that helping needs a better design. People have an inherent trait to help. Good design helps people help each other. Human resources are plentyful – we have time and money, its just a matter of how we decide use them. We can make helping more usable and more desirable. 

E. The truth is that the current system is seriously out of date. Industrial age of plenty is forever gone and now we are entering the era of wicked problems. This gives us the new generation of designers an ability raise to the strategic realm. To be able to add value to our customer and the human kind we must always question the current system and challenge the given brief. Designers are educators of their clients and the users – as much as they are creators of unique and radical innovations.

F. The truth is that there is enough resources on this planet for everyone if we use them wisely. Sharing resources is the new mass-production. Both consumption and production are about to get collective. Economies are about to get local and well-connected. This means that designs much concentrate on bring people together and creating trust - the necessary conditions of sharing. The keyword is de-hippieization.

G. The truth is that grass root social change is powerful. Social change happens when a group of people change their behaviour and inspires other do the same, creating the new normal. Designers should stop designing for isolated individuals and consumer segments and start designing for communities and groups. This means radical shift for the design process: the first step does not come from a designer.

H. The truth is the age of wicked problems requires wicked ideas. This is just not another change, this is a fresh start. We must help our clients take the challenge by proposing radical ideas for the good of humankind. Wicked problems represent a never ending business opportunity for your clients! So this is not a war between the desinger and the client, but we must learn to build on top of our clients ideas – designer is the educator of the client.

I. The truth is that the way we use homes, cars and food consume most of our natural resources. Everyday life will change. We the designers, created this system. We can as easily create a new one as well. Making everyday more fluent is not enough. The current way we live everyday is what creates wicked problems.

J. The truth is that people want firstly a home and secondly to save the world. We the designers should stop trying to sell people saving the world. Instead we should make sure that people can fulfil their desires, needs and dreams. This means that we have to understand people's motivations better. We must understand what is a person seeking in the big houses, massive cars, frequent flights, beef burgers and other wicked crimes against humanity. And create better options.

01|09|11

Department of Design | Introduction to Joint Master Studies ’11

Final PresentationDeliverables

Toni Kauppila

Department of Design | Introduction to Joint Master Studies ’11

01|09|11

Design Manifesto- As a design manifest, write a compact sentence by crystallising the given theme – Make it better! - The Truth is...“ “.

• Design a Poster - Pdf-file, 70x100 cm, portrait.- This will be as an advertisement for your Manifesto to be placed in the Lume gallery.

• Make a Keynote-presentation- 5 mins, 1024x768 px. Include the ‘poster’ as a slide for identification.- Explain the Manifesto through examples e.g. case studies, practices, tools, principles...

• Choose 3 music tracks- Author and title.- Tracks should represent the attitude of your Manifesto. These will be played at the party.

• Return the attendance list

Organise your BaseCamp to sub-groups for different tasks.

Deadline for deliverables 12:00 at Sampo-hall on USB-stick.

Presentations starting at 13:00, 12 mins intervals at Sampo-hall.