Last week, Monnou visited the Berlin Design Week. We had the opportunity to visit studios and projects like Pong, focused on industrial design with a circular economy perspective. We also explored Superrr Lab, a non-profit organization dedicated to designing a better future for the digital environment: feminist, inclusive, and sustainable. Additionally, we attended several talks and events. At the iF Design event, organized by the World Design Organization (WDO), we participated in a debate about the role of designers in the age of Artificial Intelligence. At the iF Design Awards Gala, we got to know many of the awarded projects, explore new design categories, and observe how sustainability is increasingly becoming a key criterion in projects.

Additionally, Pedro from Monnou, as part of the WDO, participated in a research project in Berlin alongside his colleagues Kimia and Muhammad. They researched how we can design more prosperous, cohesive, and peaceful communities.

In this story, we share some reflections from this Berlin design week.

Design and Ethics in times of technological acceleration

In the various talks and conversations we attended, there was a noticeable concern about the role of designers in a world led by technology. There was also concern about the consequences of this technological acceleration and its impact on the ethics and sustainability of designers’ work.

First, it’s interesting to understand the difference between the design professional and the methods or approaches of design. On one hand, there are people whose profession is within the design field: graphic, industrial, service design, etc. On the other hand, there are design tools, methodologies, and approaches that are used by professionals from other fields (even scientists) to innovate.

Second, it was discussed how designers are the voice of ethics within organizations and projects. This is something worth considering carefully, as people from other disciplines (such as science, marketing, or engineering) also bring ethical debates to the table. Designers aren’t the only ones concerned about people and the planet. However, it’s true that design tools and methodologies can help any professional from any discipline create more ethical and sustainable solutions. So, what is the role of designers in this context?

Design professionals have a lot to contribute in the following ways:

  • We are generalists, and therefore, connectors of different people and disciplines. This allows us to have an overarching vision of where a project is headed and its overall meaning. It also helps in finding the most appropriate partnerships for each project.
  • We move from theory to practice. With our methodologies, we connect research with action, making it easier to bring ethical reflection into practice.
  • The activity of design involves adaptability and flexibility: we see this every day while prototyping and experimenting as part of the design process. This is something that contributes to resilience. In times of uncertainty and constant change, design helps detect these changes early on and propose responses to them.

In this sense, designers have the capacity to give meaning to what technology does. We define the purpose very consciously. An Artificial Intelligence (AI) might execute projects more efficiently, but what’s the purpose behind that project? What does it bring to society? What’s its purpose? That’s where designers have a lot to say.

An interesting point made in these conversations is that with the arrival of AI, we will transition from being “problem solvers” to “problem discoverers.” This way, we’ll spend less time solving problems on a computer (since technology will handle that) and more time being creative about what we could do and, importantly, what we should do.

Ultimately, as designers, we shouldn’t claim to be the ones who ensure ethics is present in every project. However, in a more humble sense, we can facilitate making these ethical considerations visible and tangible in practice. This is crucial in a world increasingly led by technology.

Service Design, Design for Social Innovation

Earlier, we spoke about how design is capable of connecting research with action. In this case, Pedro, Kimia, and Muhammad focused on the research aspect through interviews in certain areas of Berlin and through an interview at the THF community radio.

From this research, recommendations can be extracted to design solutions. These solutions don’t necessarily have to be a specific product. Traditional design used to focus on creating products, but now we create with a broader vision: we design an entire service. Today, design operates in broader fields, no longer just focused on concrete products.

In relation to this, some interesting ideas came up during the interviews and the conversation at the community radio. Ayosha, the founder of THF radio, received training in product design. However, today he hardly designs products; instead, he designs initiatives and services that come from and with the community, like the radio itself. Still, having experience in product design gave him the tools to start designing more global initiatives. This is a great example of Design for Social Innovation: design focused less on products and more on creating transformative solutions with the community.

To design these transformative solutions that help us transition to sustainability, designers have the role of mediators. Designers have always been mediators between technology, business, and society, identifying what is feasible, viable, and also desirable for people. Now, we are also mediators between people within a group (a team, different departments of a company, or various stakeholders). As Ecio Manzini mentioned in his book When Everyone Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation, and as Ayosha also pointed out when we asked him about the challenges he faces co-designing an initiative like THF radio.

In any case, when designing a service (like the community radio), Ayosha ends up designing some more concrete products as well. For example, the furniture and the space where the radio’s activities take place. Service Design is very interesting because often, within the service, specific products need to be designed. Also, as Ecio Manzini says, Service Design is the discipline with the most presence in Design for Social Innovation.

A Broader Vision of Design

At Berlin Design Week, we encountered a new design discipline: sound branding. We learned about it from Ramón Vives, co-founder of the Spanish branch of the agency Sixieme Son, which won an award in this new category at the iF Design Awards. A brand experience goes far beyond the visual, as we know: Sixieme Son focuses on creating a sonic experience.

In line with this broader vision of design, which goes beyond visual aspects, new design disciplines are emerging. We were pleased to see that Service Design is now considered a discipline in the iF awards. At Monnou, we have a strong focus on service design, which considers the complete, global experience, and not just the visual. Since this approach is complex and seeks social impact, it’s necessary to involve diverse perspectives; thus, co-design and facilitation are crucial.

As mentioned, Service Design has great potential to contribute to social change and sustainability. In the world we live in, it’s essential to understand the importance of the context around the product. This has been evident in projects like the THF community radio and is a theme that appeared in various Berlin Design Week events.

Additionally, in a society where fewer products are being sold, and more services (servitization) are being offered, design must also evolve. Later on, in future stories, we will discuss Service Design in more detail.