The starting point for a manifesto for design in the age of wicked problems.

1. There is no spoon – The endpoint of design is the
use of the objects. Our life.

2. Department of Design | Introduction to Joint Master Studies ’11
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3. Department of Design | Introduction to Joint Master Studies ’11
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4. A. The truth is that group intelligence and co-
creation beat individual effort. Therefore must
take seriously the paradox of collaboration:
group intelligence needs diverse point of views, but
working with diversity is, well, hard work. The key
to success is to organise the work so that it
becomes a combination of play and improvisation
and delivery.

5. B. The truth is that designers impact people's
behaviour and lifestyle. Designers role is
therefore to help people make better decision. This
is the new definition of human-centric design.
Designers should focus on wicked problems, not
just everyday problems. By creating new lifestyles
and helping people adopt new behaviours one can
create new business. This is the way profits and
planet can co-exist.

6. C. The truth is out there. There are people whom
know people better than we. Designers can not do
it alone. Real change happens when we involve
gatekeepers of in our designs. Gatekeepers are
professionals, peer groups and communities that
have a big impact on people's lifestyles. To create a
successful product or service one must find the
gatekeepers of its success. People who can make it
fly, recommend it, create conditions for it. When
design become re-desiging lifestyles we need to
find out whom else you need for the change to
happen and involve them (advertising, teachers,
shop owners, mothers, car drivers, policymakers,
existing communities).

7. D. The truth is that helping needs a better
design. People have an inherent trait to help. Good
design helps people help each other. Human
resources are plentyful – we have time and money,
its just a matter of how we decide use them. We
can make helping more usable and more desirable.

8. E. The truth is that the current system is
seriously out of date. Industrial age of plenty is
forever gone and now we are entering the era of
wicked problems. This gives us the new generation
of designers an ability raise to the strategic realm.
To be able to add value to our customer and the
human kind we must always question the current
system and challenge the given brief. Designers are
educators of their clients and the users – as much
as they are creators of unique and radical
innovations.

9. F. The truth is that there is enough resources on
this planet for everyone if we use them wisely.
Sharing resources is the new mass-production.
Both consumption and production are about to get
collective. Economies are about to get local and
well-connected. This means that designs much
concentrate on bring people together and creating
trust - the necessary conditions of sharing. The
keyword is de-hippieization.

10. G. The truth is that grass root social change is
powerful. Social change happens when a group of
people change their behaviour and inspires other
do the same, creating the new normal. Designers
should stop designing for isolated individuals and
consumer segments and start designing for
communities and groups. This means radical shift
for the design process: the first step does not
come from a designer.

11. H. The truth is the age of wicked problems
requires wicked ideas. This is just not another
change, this is a fresh start. We must help our
clients take the challenge by proposing radical
ideas for the good of humankind. Wicked problems
represent a never ending business opportunity for
your clients! So this is not a war between the
desinger and the client, but we must learn to build
on top of our clients ideas – designer is the
educator of the client.

12. I. The truth is that the way we use homes, cars
and food consume most of our natural
resources. Everyday life will change. We the
designers, created this system. We can as easily
create a new one as well. Making everyday more
fluent is not enough. The current way we live
everyday is what creates wicked problems.

13. J. The truth is that people want firstly a home
and secondly to save the world. We the designers
should stop trying to sell people saving the world.
Instead we should make sure that people can fulfil
their desires, needs and dreams. This means that
we have to understand people's motivations better.
We must understand what is a person seeking in
the big houses, massive cars, frequent flights, beef
burgers and other wicked crimes against humanity.
And create better options.

14. Department of Design | Introduction to Joint Master Studies ’11
Final Presentation
Deliverables
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15. Department of Design | Introduction to Joint Master Studies ’11
Design Manifesto
- As a design manifest, write a compact sentence by crystallising the given theme – Make it better!
- The Truth is...“ “.
• Design a Poster
- Pdf-file, 70x100 cm, portrait.
- This will be as an advertisement for your Manifesto to be placed in the Lume gallery.
• Make a Keynote-presentation
- 5 mins, 1024x768 px. Include the ‘poster’ as a slide for identification.
- Explain the Manifesto through examples e.g. case studies, practices, tools, principles...
• Choose 3 music tracks
- Author and title.
- Tracks should represent the attitude of your Manifesto. These will be played at the party.
• Return the attendance list
Organise your BaseCamp to sub-groups for different tasks.
Deadline for deliverables 12:00 at Sampo-hall on USB-stick.
Presentations starting at 13:00, 12 mins intervals at Sampo-hall.
Toni Kauppila 01|09|11