This document discusses designing for change by making the invisible visible. It argues that design often focuses on tangible things without acknowledging underlying social forces and assumptions. It suggests that to create meaningful change, designers must place themselves on a spectrum of how much a system needs to change and draw mental models of invisible elements like relationships. Examples are given of projects that prototype future scenarios, surface assumptions, and create spaces to experiment with alternatives. The goal is to build reflexivity and imagine new possibilities by bringing the invisible influences of a system to light.

1. 1Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
@josinavink | Experio Lab | Karlstad University

2. 2Designing the Invisible | @josinavink

3. 3Designing the Invisible | @josinavink

4. 4Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
“That’s just the
way we do things
around here.”

5. 5Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Core assumptions in design
The emphasis is on
tangible, visible things.
People are seperate
from the system.
Tools are the means to
the end.

6. 6Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
All too often, we try and change things
without acknowledging the invisible
social forces . . .

7. 7Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
But what if we made the invisible
visible when designing for change?

8. 8Designing the Invisible | @josinavink

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Place yourself on
the spectrum:
It’s perfect
the way it is.
It needs to
be radically
changed.

10. 10Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Draw your
mental model
of the
doctor-patient
relationship

11. 11Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Let’s take a look at
one example . . .

12. 12Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
What
are the
unwritten
rules of
the status
quo?

13. 13Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Write
the 2020
news
headline
?
2020
Your
Headline
Goes Here

14. 14Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
What rules
do we
need to
make,
break or
maintain?

15. 15Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Trying out a
prefered future . . .

16. 16Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
And again . . .

17. 17Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
But how
can we
change
the rules
of the
game?

18. 18Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
. . . while
we are
playing it
How are the
rules of the game
influencing you
as a
changemaker?

19. 19Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Examples of
Designing the
Invisible
in Practice

20. 20Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Experience It from Another Perspective
Experio Lab - Patient Journey Project

21. 21Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Find New Ways of Doing and Making
CAMH & MaRS - Reverse Archaeology

22. 22Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Play Out the Future
C3 & AHO - Experimentarium Event

23. 23Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Provoke Reflection on Assumptions
Felicia Nilsson - Double Stethoscope

24. 24Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Coach Others to Notice New Things
Experio Lab - Test Tube Trip

25. 25Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Engage in Dialogue with New Folks
CAMH - From the Margins to the Middle Event

26. 26Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Surface Underlying Mental Models
CAMH - Northwest Toronto Service Collaborative

27. 27Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Reflect on Your Power from the Status Quo
Peer Positive - CAMH

28. 28Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Create Space to Try Out New Things
Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation - Care Team Project

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It’s about building reflexivity, imagining
alternative futures and trying them out.

30. 30Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Create your own
tiny test . . .

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If you want to reflect further,
grab a pocket book on your way out . . .

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“EVERYTHING AROUND YOU THAT
YOU CALL LIFE WAS MADE UP BY
PEOPLE THAT WERE NO SMARTER
THAN YOU. YOU CAN CHANGE IT,
YOU AN INFLUENCE IT . . . ”
- STEVE JOBS

34. 34Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
“If a factory is torn down but the
rationality which produced it is left standing,
then that rationality will simply produce
another factory. If a revolution destroys a
government, but the systematic patterns of
thought that produced that government are
left intact, then those patterns will repeat
themselves... There’s so much talk about the
system. And so little understanding.”
- Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

35. 35Designing the Invisible | @josinavink
Questions?
Reflections?