Design needs to grow up and take responsibility / George Aye / Ep. 194

Service Design Show

Design is at risk of being misused and exploited...

Wow, I had to let that sink in for a moment.

It's not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the service design community.

I generally see a bunch of optimistic and passionate professionals dedicated to making the services around us better.

However, our latest guest, George Aye, delivers an important wake-up call. George argues that when we solely focus on the feasibility aspect of our work, we fall into the trap of contributing to challenges that aren't aligned with our values.

It's not enough to merely ask whether we can do something.

As a practice, we must take responsibility and hold each other more accountable for the impact we have on the people that we serve. The key question, according to George, is whether we should contribute to a particular challenge. No challenge is too small for thorough scrutiny. We need to overcome the idea that we should get involved in every project and demand higher ethical standards from ourselves and our clients.

But what does this mean in practice?

In our conversation, George, who leads a highly respected design studio, spills the beans on how his team holds him accountable for the clients and projects they take on. Why he has written over 50 break-up letters to clients and the importance of the "gut-check" tool as the crucial compass for guiding their decision-making process.

This conversation might make you uncomfortable at times—I certainly felt that way. Yet, I wouldn't have wanted to miss it for a moment, and I believe you might feel the same after listening.

The topic is too important to ignore.

One statement from George that continues to resonate with me: When a lawyer or doctor makes a mistake, they lose their license. What are the consequences when a design professional screws up?

This is a key question we must address to mature our field.

Enjoy the conversation and keep making a positive impact.

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 194

03:45 Who is George

04:30 Lightning Round

08:00 Should we do it?

10:30 Am I asking this question enough?

14:30 A Project promoting unhealthy behaviors

20:00 Guns and tobacco

22:15 The risk of getting fired and it's trade-offs

26:15 How can we know when to speak up?

30:45 Examples when making a wrong judgment call

31:15 The Gut check

48:15 What to do when it doesn't play out well

53:45 How do we bring this to a broader community?

57:15 Moral injury

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• LinkedIn - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeaye/⁠
• George's studio: ⁠http://greatergoodstudio.com/⁠
• The Social Change by Design Database: ⁠https://airtable.com/appxBXOcR6tqV5phJ/shrmOgXzu5DD2NlYC/tbltgZ0yFEmLkqqJe⁠
• Sign up for the fireside chat: - https://go.servicedesignshow.com/kdpbv

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

⁠⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle⁠