36 years ago Peter Gorb and Angela Dumas wrote their seminal paper on ‘Silent Design’ for the Design Journal.
In my professional work I come across ‘Silent Designers’ all the time. People who are innovating in their organisations, who have an in-depth knowledge about their products, services and systems but are often unaware about how design approaches can transform the way they think.
If you look across the full breadth of design disciplines there are some core skills and perspectives that add great value, these include the ability to:
– Take a step back to see the bigger picture
– Create solutions driven by empathy with user & stakeholder needs
– Integrate human needs with science, technology and other knowledge domains.
– Future proof ideas by building understanding of possible scenarios
– Translate & synthesise multiple ideas into a tangible solution
– Work creatively and iteratively
– Communicate visually
All of these skills can be acquired, but careful thought needs to be given to presenting them and nurturing them in a way that fits the innovation paradigm of the organisation. One post-it doesn’t fit all.