During the past decade or so, the design profession has not only “splintered” in multiple directions, it has also been taken up at massive scale by executives and management consultancies as “strategic design” or “design thinking”. On the one hand, this has mainstreamed design in unprecedented ways, opening up new opportunities for design practitioners in the public and social sectors as well as in a wide variety of corporate functions. On the other hand, critics suggest that design as a profession risks becoming diluted and perhaps co-opted to an extent that its essential characteristics are lost.
What are the implications for the role of design in business and society? In this session, Christian Bason takes an in-depth look at the value, the investment in and the consequences of a positive, pro-active design policy for a State. He shares work done in Denmark to uncover the country’s design DNA; to map the value to business of design; to chart the scope of the design field, and to craft new policies for the creative industries. Additionally, he reflects on global trends as business and governments are investing in new ways in design capabilities. Against this backdrop, he critically examines the tension between traditional design production versus the current reflexive invocation of “design” for all kinds of new managerial techniques, and points to fruitful ways forward to the benefit of business and society.
This event is made possible by the Treseder Fellowship.
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