Artistic Consciousness within Design Thinking
When I look at the many different approaches to the application of design thinking I look for a number of things; some are hygiene factors, some related to the way in which it is being embedded into an organisation’s culture, and others relating to the background and thinking of those doing the designing.
As a psychologist who specialised in cognitive studies, I am astutely aware of the way in which non-specialists can often invalidate their studies by not being aware of the many subtle ways a researcher can affect the behaviour and opinions of those taking part in trials. There has to be a rigorous scientific design process when the context calls for it.
But there is another side to design which is art. There are transcendental aspects of design which are understood, absorbed and then lived which exist far beyond the codified methodologies.
Eduardo Srur is one of the world’s leading urban interventionists, designing large scale works of art in urban spaces, which draw people’s attention to the environment and major issues affecting cities and urban living. Maria and I had the opportunity to spend time in his studio in São Paulo discussing art, design and consciousness for our book Customer Experiences with Soul: A New Era in Design. I love this quote from the interview which really captures the essence of what I am hoping to draw people’s attention to:
“As an artist you can never be satisfied with reality. You always have to question things. You have to have conviction in yourself, create your own form of expression and poetry.”
If an organisation can really manage this mix between artistic consciousness and scientific mentality, it is more than likely to be truly working with the thinking of designers. That is when things can really start to happen.
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Simon Robinson is the co-founder of Holonomics Education and the co-author of the books Customer Experiences with Soul: A New Era in Design and Holonomics: Business Where People and Planet Matter. He began his career at BT Laboratories (British Telecom) in ergonomics and human factors, responsible for the user interfaces and the customer experience of fixed and mobile consumer products. In 1995 he and his colleagues created the concepts ‘designing the customer experience’ which brought together user-centred design and marketing into a single process. He is a Harvard Business Review author, a member of the Strongly Sustainable Business Model Group at OCAD University, Toronto, and editor of the blog http://www.transitionconsciousness.org.
