Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T15:57:45.707Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Designers as Change Agents: Perceived Roles in Advancing Sustainability in Organizations on Different Design Utilization Levels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

F. van der Marel  and
T. Björklund
F. van der Marel*
Affiliation:
Aalto University, Finland
T. Björklund
Affiliation:
Aalto University, Finland
*
[email protected]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Design scholarship has long roots in tackling wicked problems and sustainability, yet less is known about how professional designers interact with sustainability issues in practice. Based on interviews with 104 designers in 101 organizations in Finland, this study compares designer perceptions on the role of design in advancing sustainability. We identify six common roles, each with various foci on different design maturity levels in organisations. The findings support managers and designers in understanding which capabilities might be needed in advancing the role of design and sustainability.

Keywords

design practicesustainabilitydesign maturitydesign competences
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 2: DESIGN2022 , May 2022 , pp. 1149 - 1158
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2022.

References

Baldassarre, B., Calabretta, G., Bocken, N., Diehl, J. C., & Duygu, K. (2019). “The evolution of the Strategic role of Designers for Sustainable Development”. In Academy for Design Innovation Management Conference 2019: Research Perspectives in the era of Transformations, pp. 1–15. 10.33114/adim.2019.01.228Google Scholar
BEDA, (2017), BEDA Cluster: Measuring Design Value as a key factor of successful innovation, The Bureau of European Design Associations. Available at https://beda.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BEDA-Cluster-Measuring-Design-Value-Report-2017.pdf (accessed 14.11.2021).Google Scholar
Björklund, T.A., Keipi, T. and Maula, H., (2020a), “Crafters, explorers, innovators, and co-creators: Narratives in designers’ identity work”, Design Studies, 68, pp.82–112. 10.1016/j.destud.2020.02.003Google Scholar
Björklund, T.A., Maula, H., Soule, S.A. and Maula, J., (2020b), “Integrating design into organizations: The coevolution of design capabilities”, California Management Review, 62(2), pp.100–124. 10.1177/0008125619898245CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braun, V. and Clarke, V., (2006). “Using thematic analysis in psychology”, Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), pp. 77–101. 10.1191/1478088706qp063oaCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buley, L., Avore, C., Gates, S., Stephen, S., Goodman, R. and Walter, A., (2019), The New Design Frontier. Design Better by InVision. Available at: www.invisionapp.com/design-better/design-maturity-model/ (accessed 14.11.2021).Google Scholar
Candi, M., Gemser, G. and Van Den Ende, J., (2010), Design Effectiveness. Rotterdam School of Management, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Ceschin, F. and Gaziulusoy, I., (2016), “Evolution of design for sustainability: From product design to design for system innovations and transitions”, Design Studies, 47, pp.118–163. 10.1016/j.destud.2016.09.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Danish Design Centre, (2001), The Design Ladder, Available at: danskdesigncenter.dk/en/design-ladder-four-stepsdesign-use (accessed 14.11.2021).Google Scholar
European Commission (2015), Indicators for Sustainable Cities. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/indicators_for_sustainable_cities_IR12_en.pdf (accessed 14.11.2021).Google Scholar
Fayard, A.L., Stigliani, I. and Bechky, B.A., (2016), “How nascent occupations construct a mandate: The case of service designers’ ethos”, Administrative Science Quarterly, 62(2), pp.270–303. 10.1177/0001839216665805Google Scholar
Gaziulusoy, A.İ. and Ryan, C., (2017), “Roles of design in sustainability transitions projects: A case study of Visions and Pathways 2040 project from Australia”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, pp. 1297–1307. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.122Google Scholar
Ghazilla, R.A.R., Sakundarini, N., Taha, Z., Abdul-Rashid, S.H. and Yusoff, S., (2015), “Design for environment and design for disassembly practices in Malaysia: a practitioner's perspectives”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 108, pp.331–342. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.06.033Google Scholar
Hakio, K. and Mattelmäki, T., (2019), “Future skills of design for sustainability: An awareness-based co-creation approach”, Sustainability, 11(19), p. 5247. 10.3390/su11195247Google Scholar
Liedtka, J., (2020), “Putting technology in its place: Design thinking's social technology at work”. California Management Review, 62(2), pp. 53–83. 10.1177/0008125619897391Google Scholar
Meinel, M., Eismann, T.T., Baccarella, C.V., Fixson, S.K. and Voigt, K.I., (2020), “Does applying design thinking result in better new product concepts than a traditional innovation approach? An experimental comparison study”, European Management Journal, 38(4), pp. 661–671. 10.1016/j.emj.2020.02.002Google Scholar
Micheli, P., Perks, H. and Beverland, M.B., (2017), “Elevating design in the organization”, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 35(4), pp. 629–651. 10.1111/jpim.12434CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Micheli, P., Wilner, S.J., Bhatti, S.H., Mura, M. and Beverland, M.B., (2019), “Doing design thinking: Conceptual review, synthesis, and research agenda”, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 36(2), pp.124–148. 10.1111/jpim.12466Google Scholar
Nielsen, B.F., (2014), “Imperatives and trade-offs for the humanitarian designer: off-grid energy for humanitarian relief”, Journal of sustainable development, 7(2), p. 15. 10.5539/jsd.v7n2p15Google Scholar
Nishitani, K., Unerman, J. and Kokubu, K., (2021), “Motivations for voluntary corporate adoption of integrated reporting: A novel context for comparing voluntary disclosure and legitimacy theory”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 322, p. 129027. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129027Google Scholar
Perks, H., Cooper, R. and Jones, C., (2005), “Characterizing the role of design in new product development: An empirically derived taxonomy”, Journal of product innovation management, 22(2), pp. 111–127. 10.1111/j.0737-6782.2005.00109.xGoogle Scholar
Rae, J., (2016), “Design value index exemplars outperform the S&P 500 index (again) and a new crop of design leaders emerge”, Design Management Review, 27(4), pp. 4–11. 10.1111/drev.12040Google Scholar
Rivard, L., Lehoux, P. and Miller, F.A., (2019), “Double burden or single duty to care? Health innovators’ perspectives on environmental considerations in health innovation design”, BMJ Innovations, 10. 10.1136/bmjinnov-2019-000348Google Scholar
Sheppard, B., Sarrazin, H., Kouyoumjian, G. and Dore, F., (2018), The business value of design, McKinsey & Company.Google Scholar
UNESCO, (2017), Education for Sustainable Development Goals—Learning Objectives, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: Paris, France, Available at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247444 (accessed 14.11.2021)Google Scholar