05 Routes out of Design's Doldrums

Product Powwow

Today I talk to three design industry luminaries about the current state of design and potential paths forward. They’re all seasoned hands who have ridden out a few downturns in their time and can take a long view on design from their different vantage points.

Robert Fabricant is a Social impact designer based in NYC who specialises in Healthcare and previously worked at Frog. He wrote two much-discussed articles on FastCo earlier this year, which provocatively asked if Business was breaking up with design, which partly prompted my article on Design in the Doldrums.

Sean Carney has a background in ID, and has held various design leadership roles, including being the Chief Design Officer of Philips for 15 years, so gives a highly authoritative corporate design view on the situation.

Warren Hutchinson has moved from ID to UX to digital transformation design, both in-house and as a consultant, including his current consultancy, which he co-founded.

15:00 Symptoms of the Doldrums

25:15 From product to system design?

35:32 Over specialisation?

39:10 Routes out of the Doldrums

ARTICLES MENTIONED

Robert Fabricant, ‘The big design freak-out: A generation of design leaders grapple with their future’, 15 February 2024, FastCompany

Robert Fabricant, ‘Design leaders are in their reinvention era’, 10 April 2024, FastCompany

Kevin McCullagh, ‘Why design is in the doldrums’, 18 September 2024
Kevin McCullagh, DMI keynote deck, 24 September 2024

KEVIN & PLAN

Kevin McCullagh is the founder of Plan, a product strategy consultancy based in London, which helps design and innovation leaders with strategic clarity. He writes and speaks on Foresight, Innovation and Leadership.

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Website: www.plan.london

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MUSIC

By Nico Delaney

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