[Paper] The Imaginary Crisis
As the Covid-19 crisis hopefully comes slowly under control, we ought to attend to a very different kind of crisis, and one which is scarcely visible: the deteriorating state of our shared social imagination.
Insights curated by Experientia, the international UX consultancy
Insights curated by Experientia, the international UX consultancy
Category Sustainability
Scrutinizing the effects of digital technology on mental health
Does time spent using digital technology and social media have an adverse effect on mental health, especially that of adolescents?
Three narratives that stymie social change and what we can do about it
Nat Kendall-Taylor studied nearly 40 different social issues and the cultural models people use to understand them. He found three cultural models that stymie social change, and three research-based messaging strategies that can help shift them.
Smart City Index that takes citizen engagement into account
A team of researchers from IMD in Switzerland and SUTD in Singapore put together the Smart City Index. For the first time, researchers attempted to assess people’s perceptions of technology – as opposed to the quality of the technology itself…
Papers on behaviour, design and the circular economy
Consumer insights into the circular economy Report of stakeholder meeting, 25 October 2018, 14 pages The “Stakeholder Meeting: Consumer Insights into the Circular Economy” in Brussels on 25 October 2018, was co-organised by the Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption (CSCP)…
Intel anthropologist Dawn Nafus interview on the use of data and technology in medical contexts
In an age where we can collect and store (forEVER) every second of every day, how much do we truly need to learn? To react? To do good deeds that benefit society? Assuming we champion that, what does it mean…
[Report] Hiding in Plain Sight: Impact Investing in the Creative Economy
In October 2018, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors published Hiding in Plain Sight: Impact Investing in the Creative Economy, a new report from RPA sponsored project Upstart Co-Lab. The report is the first analysis of the tremendous potential that the creative economy…
Consumer behaviour and the circular economy
Report: Behavioural Study on Consumers’ Engagement in the Circular Economy London Economics for the European Commission – Consumers Health and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA) 23 October 2018, 202 pages The objective of this study was to provide policy-relevant insights on…
Problem solving desperately needs systems thinking
“If we want to overcome the systemic issues behind today’s problems, then we need to change the thinking that led to them to begin with, writes Dr. Leyla Acaroglu, award winning designer, UNEP Champion of the Earth, social scientist and…
Impact through Design – Event in Turin, Italy
(Scroll down for English) Come può il design generare impatto? In continuità con il summit International Days of Deans and Experts: Impact Through Design (Barcellona, aprile 2018) Torino ospita il primo evento dedicato alla prospettiva italiana sull’impatto generato attraverso il…
[Study] Rethinking The Smart City – Democratizing Urban Technology
Rethinking The Smart City – Democratizing Urban Technology By Evgeny Morozov and Francesca Bria Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, New York Office January 2018 Download pdf: English version – German version Following the celebration of the “creative city” (as described by Richard…
Learning from today’s car-centric cities for a human-centered future of mobility
The introduction of autonomy into urban environments creates a unique opportunity to do things differently. This, writes Maya Pindeus (CEO and co-Founder of Humanising Autonomy) requires us to encourage a human-centered perspective towards urban mobility and to step away from…
From human-centered design to humanity-centered design
The design industry’s reigning paradigm is in crisis. It’s time to evolve from human-centered design to humanity-centered design, write Artefact’s Rob Girling and Emilia Palaveeva. If followed blindly and left unchecked, this cult of designing for the individual can have…
Financial Times special report on citizen empowerment through technology
The Financial Times has published People’s Technology, an excellent special report on how grassroots communities across Europe are using technologies in new ways to solve problems and empower citizens. People and communities are putting new technologies to use in solving…
Thinking about the social cost of technology
The frustration and stress caused by complex technologies that can seem unknowable — not to mention the time and mindshare that gets wasted trying to make systems work as people want them to work — doesn’t tend to get talked…
Designing for the circular economy
As reported by Knowledge@Wharton, the London-based Agency of Design (AoD) came up with three different approaches, “each of which embodies a different strategy to designing circularity from the outset”: They are (1) designing for longevity (and durability), which also implies…
[Report] Consuming Differently, Consuming Sustainably: Behavioural Insights for Policymaking
The objective of this report, published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is to shed light on opportunities to strengthen the effectiveness of policies for sustainable consumption in both developed and developing countries. The publication provides evidence-based insights from…
[Report] Behavioural Insights at the United Nations’ Achieving Agenda 2030
In 2016, the UNDP Innovation Facility collaborated with the newly engaged UN Behavioural Science Advisor to work on behaviorally-informed design with 8 UNDP Country Offices in all 5 regions: Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Ecuador, Jordan, Moldova, Montenegro and Papua New Guinea.…
Experientia’s CITYOPT project awarded prestigious French award for its sustainable development design
Following the 2016 Smart Innovation Award at “FIMBACTE Trophées du Cadre de vie”, the CITYOPT project has once again been recognised, this time in the prestigious French design competition: “Observeur du Design 2017”, in the Service Design category. In June…
The complexity of plastic bags
As societies face increasingly complex problems, design is emerging as the tool to solve some of Asia’s biggest issues. Through field trips with designers skilled in human-centered design, the team behind Ethnographers’ Field Guide to Innovation, a new series on…