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Design thinking will kill us all: or why we need a new philosophy of design if we want to save civilisation
Design has a profound impact on our day-to-day lives – designed combinations of hardware, software, product, service and ecosystem have produced marvels. We are now more connected and capable than ever before.
Design should make the world a better place, but in our rush to innovate, we have also made monsters – and in large part that’s because ‘design thinking’ is fundamentally flawed. Apple didn’t intend to make devices that were addictive. Blockchain wasn’t intended to create a carbon footprint the size of a small country. Facebook wasn’t intended to be the most powerful propaganda machine in history.
Join us on Friday 17 July at 13.00 for a provocative hour as designer and historian Craig Walmsley explores how our work has consequences far beyond the business-customer model and shares his perspective on the ethics of design, why we need a new philosophy of design, and what that might look like.
Live and free webinar from 13.00-14.00 on Friday 17 July: register today.
About Craig Walmsley
Craig is Senior Director, Customer Experience & Innovation Consulting – Publicis Sapient.
In this role, he combines evidence-led customer insight, commercial rigour and technical opportunity to define differentiated digital propositions.
He was first and founding member of AKQA’s Strategy Department in 1998, and Director of Strategy in London, San Francisco and New York until 2008, shaping the discipline of digital strategy from its inception.
He was Managing Director at EHS 4D (now Havas Helia) for two years, and then Managing Director at the Digital Consultancy Progenit for 5 years, helping organisations shape and deliver their digital strategy.
Prior to joining Sapient he was founder of the start-up rtobjects – delivering cinematic interactive visuals to everyone everywhere.
In addition to his work in Innovation Consulting, he is an historian and editor for the Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke at the Oxford University Press.
His research has been featured in The Guardian, The Observer, The Times Literary Supplement, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Forbes magazine, and the Smithsonian Magazine, amongst others.
He has also written and spoken on the future of design practice, the nature of A.I., and the ethics of design.