Before our first lecture, I had never really pondered the application of design to solve social issues. As a Fashion and Textiles student, design for me was a process to develop tangible products. I had never viewed design as a means of transforming services.
Having listened to the lecturer speak of previous applications of social design in the Designing Out Crime team, I am inspired to really give this subject my full attention. I am an environmentally and socially conscious individual who is interested in working with the community to improve societal standard of living and quality of life.
This first week I learnt that there are many ways to approach the design process.
The most important part of this process however is the research stage. This could involve using a number of different methodologies such as; observation, interview, survey, heaven or hell, visual analysis. This stage is intrinsic in holistically understanding the problem. Without fully understanding the problem, a design team is unable to design successful solutions. Design solutions do not simply resolve the existing problem, but rather look at the problem from a different angle and solve the issue through implementing an alternative strategy. This is the first time I have been exposed to this way of thinking, and am very eager to put it into practice.
I was assigned the "Leaving Care" brief where my group will be looking at the process foster kids undergo to prepare for leaving foster care and becoming independent at 18 years old. We brainstormed our existing knowledge on the foster care system and identified any prejudices we may have that would impact this project.
This week I learnt that the foster care process is very complex and each individual who goes through this system, has a unique experience. Some of these experiences may be positive, others may be negative.
It is crucial to remember the complexity of the problem to consider all facets when designing change.
