Doing design well

Any problem or challenge can be addressed with any approach. However, not every approach is suitable for any kind of problem. For example, humans usually approach the challenge of building a bridge with an engineering approach even though it is, of course, possible to approach it using art or religion or any other approach. Most people have an intuitive sense of when one particular approach is suitable or not even though they sometimes debate it.

Today a lot of people argue that design is a suitable approach for certain challenges, usually those that require creative or innovative solutions. Design as a human approach for inquiry and change has proven to be extraordinarily powerful. This is also why so many today want to "use" the approach. Some time back, design as an approach was 'packaged' into a something called 'design thinking'. The purpose was to make the approach more approachable, easier to understand and use. And also to teach those who had no experience or training in design.

This is all good and well. However, it has led to some disappointments and frustrations, since people who have tried to 'use' the approach have not been as successful as they were promised or believed they would be.

There might be many reasons for this backlash. This backlash has been getting quite a lot of attention recently. Some argue that design as an approach is fundamentally flawed, some that it has been misunderstood, and some are arguing for moving on to other more promising approaches.

But there are also some very simple reasons that design is not always done well. There are some truths about using design as an approach that is commonly forgotten.

Here are some of these truths about what is needed to do design well:

1. Any serious human approach aimed at dealing with some aspect of reality (science, art, engineering, business, design, etc.) is intrinsically complex and requires substantial training and experience to be able to do well. Reality is wonderfully rich and complex and cannot be dealt with in any simplified way without leading to unwanted consequences. This is why we have education, disciplines, and professions.

2. You can use an approach, without understanding it. Like any approach, it is possible to 'use' design without really understanding its underlying assumptions and principles (philosophy). However, this leads to increased risk of using the approach for the wrong purposes and to misappropriate the methods and tools that are core to the designerly approach. This will, in turn, lead to outcomes that are not desired and expected.

3. You can use an approach but do it badly. There is no serious approach that can be used without being conscientious about its process, methods, and tools. For instance, you cannot 'use' the scientific approach sloppily. If you do, the outcome will not be recognized as knowledge. The same with design. If the process is done badly, the outcomes will not lead to the level of quality expected and it will be a consequence of execution and not the approach itself.

4. Any approach requires a supporting culture and environment that understands, embraces and supports the approach. It is extremely difficult to engage in a  truly designerly approach if the surrounding environment is not supportive. This is true for all approaches. For instance, we know about companies that are commonly labeled as "engineering" companies with the meaning that most people in the company are trained engineers. In a company like that it is easy to use an engineering approach. To engage with a designerly approach in such a company can be extraordinarily difficult and even dangerous.

There are of course many more "truths" than these four.

So, what does this mean? It means that if you want to do design well, you have to:

1. accept that design is highly complex and requires extensive training and experience.

2. truly understand design as a fundamental approach, its philosophical foundation.

3. put in a lot of effort, work hard, and be true to the approach.

4. make sure you have a supportive environment, a design culture.