How design can create new solutions

Or as it is presented in Emily Pilloton’s new book 'Design Revolution - 100 Products That Empower People'. Emily Pilloton’s starting point is that design is problem solving with grace and foresight, that it is a human instinct and that people are inherently optimistic. I like this very hopeful approach and it certainly gives hope for future sustainable solutions to the problems we are facing.

I am a bit more sceptical when the sentence continues: 'And every problem can either be defined as a design problem or solved with a design solution, and that in an ideal (design) world, there would be no need for this book, because designers would be more responsible and socially productive citizens.' The last part of the sentence is right down my alley. Responsibility for a more just and sustainable world is more achievable if it is a shared responsibility.

Where my scepticism sets in is where the design of 'the proper' objects are seen as that which can change the world. There is no doubt that design is very important and makes a difference, but there is a bracket with certain economic and political structures which this kind of design cannot solve. For this, we need to talk about redesigning overriding global systems and rationalities - but it seems this is not the purpose of this book. Still I am happy with this book due to its emphasis on design as social entrepreneurship, as activism and as catalysts for world change.

Oddly enough, I immediately flip forward to the part which deals with mobility design. The project 'Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV)' is a great example of how design can change and improve everyday life while simultaneously underlining differences. For those who have not yet gotten the wordplay, BUV is a commentary to the Western world’s passion for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). In many cities around the world, a growing number of SUVs are used to transport individuals on paved roads creating increased risks for other road users. A BUV is used in developing countries as school buses, ambulances and for farmers and traders as an opportunity to transport goods, create development and improve life quality.

A BUV's does not have the same comfort or shimmering design as an SUV. A BUV is designed for and used to transport goods and people on difficult passable infrastructure or lack thereof. So yes - design can change the quality of life and it can be activism and empower people. But alone it is not enough to change the world. Farmers and merchants in the developing world will most likely, despite the BUV, still be underpaid in order for their products to create large surplus before ending up with consumers in the industrialized countries.

But still you should read Emily Pilloton's new book. It has optimism, future visions and creates awareness of all the opportunities we already have but are not yet using.