Designing for wellbeing

the metro station with a whole new level of ambition, so that it’s not just
a space to pass through.”
– Project coordinator, Helsinki
“In my personal opinion the visual outlook of the notification letters was
really refreshing, when I looked at them from the bureaucracy’s point of
view… They had good tips, and so did the project about student healthcare.
For me the maternity centre section was the most vague from the point of
view of what we could get out of it. We did get a lot out of it, though, and it
gave us lots of hints about how to reach people who can’t be bothered to
read our officialese.”
– Head nurse, Helsinki
However, the designers’ and clients’ approaches were not a good match
in every respect. In particular, the amount of work and effort demanded
by co-design raised questions for the busy clients.
“I think the overall rating of the project is good, but on the practical side
there was something more to wish for… The working method of the project
was strenuous compared to ordinary consultation work. If you arrange
events that you want the city’s representatives to attend, there should be
more warning time. Well, it says so in the contract that we have to engage
and take part, but the amount of participation that was demanded exceeded
our resources. I understand the point of view and the methods of the
project, but it was really heavy. There are plenty of strengths in that, but
as a package it requires more thought.”
– Head of an urban development programme, Helsinki
“I’m not used to the steering group being exploited as unashamedly as
it was in this project. There were seminars and other things as if we had
no other jobs to do… This time we were pretty nice and attended. Usually,
32 · The cities on design