Heist Design

Collaborative. Calm. Connected - a great post from Rishad Tobaccowala last evening got me thinking about one of the key ways in which Heist Design has evolved over the last few years. Being collaborative is baked into our DNA, and indeed the name of our studio. My vision for Heist was always this magical assembly of great teams for great projects, and I am happy we are staying true to this principle. But it takes a lot more than the 'assembly' of the right people to make the magic happen. 💥 It takes having easy to communicate practices that define our culture and build team dynamics - short simple rituals for both studio and field. 💫 It takes leading with Emotional Intelligence and Empathy (words over used in design, but more relevant than ever). 🌸 I have learnt that it also takes the courage to spot and call out/ nip bad behaviour in the bud. No matter how senior someone is, or how talented - if they are hard to work with, given to shouting at teams or throwing all their toys out of the conference room pram - it is not going to be a happy successful collab. 🌱 And it takes reflection. Looking back at what happened with clear eyes, accepting points of failure, being graceful and seeking the lessons. Last week, we had a team dinner with Madhu Verma of DesignforChange to celebrate a successful collab - building confidence amongst JC students using the principles of prototyping. Madhu and I are both from New Delhi and had joked that our teams will be rewarded in Chai and Indian street food. Hence, a small Indian street food party graciously hosted by Madhu, with Kenneth Y. Wee Amanda Sarah Chin and others. We even had Cami Chiang, a Heist collab visiting from Taipei join us. What struck me most was the laughter around the table, stories being exchanged. Light topics and equally deep ones, curiosity and learning from each other. Sure, the spicy golgappas had us giddy but there is a certain magic when people with the right intentions, aligned vision and sense of purpose come together. This was a 'end of project, start of the next' celebration dinner and these have been consistent themes through our association with Madhu's team. I always say laughter is a measure of success, people being comfortable to be themselves is critical for good work. Some themes I have been thinking about: 1/ How do we continue to expand the network without losing the Heist way of approaching design problems? 2/ How can we bravely (but firmly) turn away from situations that are not right for us, without damaging relationships? 3/ How can we share our learnings, in an open source way with other small studios, to move away from competition and fear to courage and sharing to make us all a bit better? I would love to hear from other designers! How do you collaborate with other studios, beyond freelancers - how do you bring people into your culture and empower them to add a little something of their own? #design #collaboration #beingbetter

Is HCD still relevant? Today, our design researcher at large Kenneth Y. Wee shares his thoughts on a classic book. I’ve just read The Field Guide to Human Centered Design by IDEO.org. A classic, this book is full of practical tips, mindsets, techniques, and case studies from IDEO’s work in design for the social sector—a useful read for a design researcher! Some thoughts and practical takeaways: 💡 Sharp framing and phrasing is crucial when defining design problems and insight statements. This takes many rounds of discussion and debate, and having a diverse team goes a long way here. 🤺 Frameworks are meant to evolve and get tossed. Having grown up and worked in Singapore, where getting to the “correct” answer the first time is often valued, I found this view refreshing. Frameworks are meant to help visualise a system, not to paint a perfect picture instantly. 👀 “Constraints make for great design” is such a good thought. Limitations invite us to find creative workarounds, while also keeping us honest to what’s feasible and viable. 💫 Sharing one's excitement towards a project can open the floor for others' inspiring suggestions—especially from those already familiar with conditions on the ground. 🌸 The vibe of the room matters a lot: Psychological safety, power, co-participation, and who’s present at the table are just some of the things we consider when facilitating design work (for those in Singapore, Studio Dojo 's Design Facilitation 1 course unpacks these in great detail) Reading this book also brought to mind some of human-centered design’s more recent criticisms. Designer Jussi Pasanen summarises these in a 2019 blog post: human-centered design tends to assume users know best, ignore systemic impacts and inequalities beyond the user’s experience, and be unrelentingly profit-driven. These are valid criticisms; the latter two seem especially relevant as we stare down the present global polycrisis. Yet, this is also why I’m so inspired by design studios such as Pause and Effect (which emphasises inclusivity, equity, and regeneration in its pursuit of “relational design”), as well as critical academic voices such as Cameron Tonkinwise and Stuart Candy. Their work is an important reminder of why framing matters in how we do design - applied just a little differently, the same tools and strategies of human-centred design can have vast, transformative effects across the systems and societies we live within. #design #inspiration #designresearch Sources in the comments below! Image Credit: Randy Jacob