Designing for wellbeing

knowledge about a situation to tackle it with whatever competencies he
or she possesses, without having to go to excessive lengths to learn the
particularities of the topic. It also provides continuous holistic feedback,
which informs the practitioner about aspects above and beyond what the
tested hypothesis was looking for. For example, proposing an improvement
to how a healthcare system handles patient records is likely to elicit
sensitive notions about patient privacy and other matters that perhaps
fall outside the scope of the initial problem statement. These notions can
prompt the designer to develop the proposal in ways that might not have
been obvious to a person more familiar with the domain.
Tom Kelley 4 , CEO of IDEO, talks about the different kinds of personalities
that are crucial for innovation. One of them is the anthropologist, who
Kelley credits as practicing the Zen philosophy in the sense of having the
mind of a novice. This means they are able to approach a familiar thing as
if it were something completely new, without a priori truths and assumptions
about the phenomenon being studied. This ability is closely linked
to another skill Kelley attributes to anthropologists: that of vuja de – the
opposite of déjà vu. It is the ability to see with new eyes what has always
been there. Anthropologists seek epiphanies through seeing something
familiar with new eyes.
Design’s contribution to this comes through its use of visual communication
and modelling. This use is perhaps related to tacit knowledge; the
ability to understand more than we can explain. We show more than we
can tell, and without words the receiver may also understand more than
we are able to communicate. This does not have to mean highly polished
images and complex artwork; rough sketches are enough. Visual modelling
of even highly abstract problems and issues is a way of thinking them
through. This way of reflecting on the problem helps the conversation by
4 Kelley, T (2006) The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO’s Strategies for Beating the Devil’s
Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization. Tom Kelly with Jonathan
Littman. Profile, London
40 · We have always been here before: on design courting real disciplines