Paul Merrell
Principal Designer, Meld Studios
Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should! The importance of designing with context, even in a pandemic
18 mins
Broader Impact & change through design
Mid-level Designers
About The Speaker
Paul is a highly experienced ethnographic researcher who strives to understand people’s needs, aspirations, anxieties, hopes, and dreams.
He has led dozens of projects around the world; and speaks globally about design research, engagement methods, and building empathy to make a change.
Paul has delivered service design projects and HCD capability building for private and public sector clients in health, justice, environment, financial regulation and financial services. Paul was recently awarded an Australian Good Design Award® 2020: Best in class for ASIC’s Financial Wellbeing Network.
Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should! The importance of designing with context, even in a pandemic
The Coronavirus disease pandemic has enabled new ways of designing. Familiarity with Zoom conversations relaxes the constraint of geography for more inclusive designs. Yet, researching remote can mean an absence of context. This talk draws on Meld Studios’ work in health during COVID-19. And, shows the value of ‘doubling down’ on designing in context.
Key Takeaways
1
While the pandemic has made it easier to research with people in any
location, we miss the context and the clues to inspire innovation.
2
Context is critical in understanding the culture of a design. The artefact
becomes a leverage point to disrupt and co-opt this culture. And, makes the
lives of those who are a part of it, so much better.
3
The value of participative design when the technology and the temptation is
to work at speed, rather than with haste and humans at the centre of what we
do.
