INTERVIEWED BY Lindi Brownell Meiring
We caught up with Kurt Ward, Head of Design at Philips in The Netherlands about collaboration and current ‘design thinking’, ahead of his talks in Cape Town.
In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of collaborative design?
The role of design is changing from not only designing products, but also in supporting the transformation of organisations and ecosystems. Leveraging stakeholders across ecosystems, networks and organisations to work together towards a future vision is the key element for collaborative design. This is not only because of the growing need for integration of technology, but also the recognition that ways of working, behaviours and business and service models will create a true paradigm shift in improving peoples’ lives and help society tackle its ever increasing challenges.
What defines ‘design thinking’ for you?
The ability to support a mindset in which even those not trained in the field of design will feel free enough to unlock their creative potential to help answer large challenges in new ways.
What do you believe is the importance of practicality in design?
On the one hand, we need to create future visions in order to gain an understanding of how the horizon is changing so that we can answer not only the needs of people today, but also in the future. However, if we apply this strictly to design as deliverable, it is worthless unless a concept ultimately lands in the market or is applied in the real world.
What are you most looking forward to at Design Indaba 2015?
To get insight from design educators on how design is evolving and where they see the gaps are in competencies and skills for design to be a key driver of transformation.
While Kurt Ward will be presenting at the Educator’s Indaba at the Design Indaba Expo on Saturday 28 February, he will also be part of a talk that’s open to the public at Stellenbosch University on Friday 27 February, from 9am until 11am. To book your spot, email info@labelorange.com. Please note that tickets are limited.
