LCD Weekly Issue - 036 - Understand the Impact of your design.

Nov 18

⛰️ Words from the mountains

In LCD Weekly Issue -028, I wrote that we are exploring ways to understand the impact of our designs better. Today, I am happy to share that we have a beta version of an impact mapping method we developed with our team. Over the last two weeks, the method has been used by the participants of our online course, with promising results and some great learning for iterations.

We often discuss creating Impact or value in our design profession, but these ideas often stay abstract. With this method, we try to make them more tangible.

The Method

This NEW Life-Centered Design Method helps you understand your design's Impact on nature, communities, and the economy and determine what changes you need to make to achieve the best result. We identify five steps.

Describe the context of your design: When you have designed a concept, it is essential to try to predict and understand the impact your design will have on nature, communities worldwide and the economy.
Make a prototype of your design: Creating a prototype makes it easier to consider the Impact of your design because it becomes tangible.
Map the Impact using your prototype: Use your prototype to map the impact of your design on nature, communities, and the economy.
Understand Direct / Indirect Impact: When you have mapped the possible Impact, you want to know if it is direct or indirect and is within your control.
Iterate for Impact, not for Perfection: Now that you better understand the different ways of impact your design could make, ask yourself how your design needs to change to create a positive impact on nature, communities, and the economy.

This method is the first test phase, and we would love to have your feedback.

You can try it yourself or with your team and download the canvases in our latest blog. You can also join our Impact Mapping workshop on November 27th.

Questions I currently have about the method:

How do we consider the element of time?
In what stage of development does your design need to be to be able to test it?
Should we start thinking about impact sooner when discussing our design intentions?
Is implementation a core element of impact?

🐅 LCD in the Wild - Commons App

Commons is a Sustainable Lifestyle App that helps you discover sustainable brands, lower your carbon footprint, and earn money with rewards. It allows you, as a consumer, to take action!

Check out their website here.

🪄 Inspiration- A New Field

With the holidays approaching, we always get a bit hesitant about the amount of plastic in basically every toy out there. But not with A New Field: A craft kit for adventurers!

"Find the missing ingredient to complete the recipe and create your own natural, plastic-free toys, games and decorations."

This is for sure an option for your little boys. Check their kits here.

🔥 Hot in the School - Online free Workshop

As mentioned above, we are hosting an Impact Mapping Online Workshop.

Together with our team, we have been working on a method to understand our design's impact better. We often discuss creating impact or value in our design profession, but these discussions often stay abstract. With this method, we try to make them more tangible.

We invite you to test it and share what you learn so that we can improve it when needed.

Sign up here!

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That is all for this week!

See you next Monday!

Jeroen and Marce

Jeroen Spoelstra

I am a passionate designer and mountain biker focusing on bringing people forward using a human centered approach. As a designer you could call what I do Social Design, but nowadays there are hundreds of different design names. So for me I am a designer and try to be humble to the world. I like solving issues together with other people in co-design and I love helping people reach there goals.

I find inspiration in mountain biking, traveling and in my current home the Spanish Pyrenees. I use sports, traveling and being outside to get inspired for my work as a designer.

Design to me is constantly shitifing between making meaningful products to creating impactful and real solutions/ approaches/ business that can make a difference.

The Design profession shouldn’t solely be reserved for the designer (in developed world), but for everyone! I design for impact and help people bring out their little designer in himself or herself. I am not saying everyone should become a designer, but I do think people can use a little bit of design to help themselves forward in their personal/ professional life.

https://www.unbeatenstudio.com