LCD Weekly Issue - 028 - Impact
⛰️ Words from the mountains
How do you know your impact?
This question is currently being explored at our school. Understanding what impact is comes first. If you look in one of the online dictionaries like the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition is:
Impact: - A powerful effect that something, especially something new, has on a situation or person
When I searched further, I came across the definition from the Dictionary of Environment and Conservation (3 ed.) by Chris Park and Michael Allaby.
Impact: - The direct or indirect changes, whether beneficial or adverse, that result from a specific act or series of acts, or a project or program. Also known as effect.
Within the Life-Centered Design approach, we ask ourselves questions like:
What is the impact of our design on Nature, Community and Economy
Is that positive or negative?
If the impact is positive on nature, is that also positive for the community and the economy?
If the impact is positive on a community, is that also positive for nature and the economy?
If the impact is positive on the economy, is that also positive for nature and the community?
What is the impact on the short-term and long-term?
I believe measuring impact starts at the beginning of your design project. That's where you determine the scope of your project, conduct research to understand the human and non-human actors in your project's ecosystem, and define the purpose of your project.
When you have a design in concept, you want to understand a few things. First, what are the elements my design is built out of? These are both artefacts and non-tangible elements like actions someone takes. Each element has an impact, big or small, positive or negative, on the ecosystem.
Then, you want to know your design's lifecycle: how it is created, how it is used (journey), and how it ends. You have to design the end of your design. Finally, you want to know if the impact you measure is qualitative or quantitive.
Saying I design for impact is easy, but it's not easy to do. We are currently working on the first prototype of an Impact Design Method within our Life-Centered Design framework, which we will test in our upcoming online course. We are also investigating the steps and tools needed to help you understand the impact of your design work.
🐅 LCD in the Wild - And End
Joe Macleod and his company, And End,help you design your products' end-of-life customer experience. Whether you're driving circularity, ensuring compliance, or protecting privacy, he turns product endings into emotionally engaging experiences.
This is super relevant to the impact of your design.
🪄 Inspiration- Blueland
Blueland is a company Creating a World Without Waste.
"We’re on a mission to make it easy for everyone to make sustainable choices. Revolutionary, refillable cleaning essentials eliminating single-use plastic.
How It Works
Buy once, refill forever. Eliminating single-use plastic is as easy as fill, drop, clean.
Built for Change
We set out to create a business that acts as a force for good – showing that sustainable business practices and products can be the "norm," not the exception."
🔥 Hot in the School - Shifting from Human to Life-Centered Design Fundamentals Course.
The 5th Cohort of our course, "Shifting from Human to Life-Centered Design," has just opened! This Cohort is particularly special because, for the first time, we have collaborated with our team to create the best possible learning experience. So many new things, including a new module, are ready for you to explore!
Develop the knowledge, skills & mindset to positively impact the planet and society with Life-centered design.
Course enrollment is now open!
Some important details:
The course starts on October 11 and ends on November 22, 2024.
We offer a maximum of 15 spots (11 available.)
The duration is seven weeks, and we meet every Friday for an interactive session via Zoom from 3 pm to 5:30 pm CET.
We will have one or two groups, depending on the participants' time zones. If you can't make it to one session, no worries. We upload the recordings every Monday.
You will have access to our beautiful online environment, which is full of theory, exercises, inspiration, thought-provoking questions, and more.
We have a fantastic international WhatsApp community and a specific group for Cohort 5, where we can communicate anytime.
You will get a one-on-one coaching session focused on your project.
The time investment is around 2,5 hours (online design sessions), plus 2-5 hours per week of your time.
We have two experts joining two of our sessions. The past participants really enjoyed this!
And, of course, you will receive a certificate of completion.
Payment details:
The total price of the course is 995 euros, excluding VAT.
We offer the option to pay in two terms (one before the course starts and one halfway through the course.)
We provide scholarships that cover 60% of your tuition fees, and we have 4 spots available.
Reimbursement options are available, and we can work with your company to enrol you!
———————————————————
That is all of this week! See you next Monday!
Jeroen
