Design eye for the Cardigan guy

Posted by Erin Green on 1 February 2010 | 0 Comments
Tags: design thinking, public sector, social services, user-centred,

The old vision of a public servant in a brown cardigan (with patched elbows) and a mug of coffee in hand is fast diminishing as governments strive to build stronger, more responsive social services to deal with the diverse and ever-changing needs of social service users.

At the same time members of the design community are realising that there are better uses for their talents then designing better taps or a sleeker, smaller gadget. There is a growing movement of designers turning their 'design eye' to the challenge of how our society works and particularly on user-centred perspectives on social services.

The use of design thinking for social service redesign is being used for a range of excellent and impactful projects implemented internationally particularly in the UK and USA but also in developing countries across Africa and Asia. So now it's Australia's turn to use this fresh approach to working with users and communities.

For a taster about design thinking check out this TED talk by Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO and if you're interested in knowing more check our our Design thinking for social services project.