Fourteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

The contemporary practice of design harbors great potential to affect social, cultural, or behavioral change. To create successful change initiatives, the design of solutions, artifacts, and communications must acknowledge sociopolitical, economic, and cultural contexts and work within specific value systems and worldviews. Achieving this deep, comprehensive empathy – traditionally the domain of anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists – is one of the greatest challenges faced by design professionals and students. As designers are increasingly relied upon to develop solutions in the service of mankind, there is a clear need to integrate some fundamental knowledge of humanity into design education and professional practice. It is impractical to suggest a designer seeking to be an effective agent of change must also be an expert of human behavior and culture; however, psychological models, such as Clare Graves’s Spiral Dynamics Theory, may suggest effective methods for integrating a practical and exceptional level of empathy into design practice. This paper examines how Graves’s Spiral Dynamics Theory, an established, holistic psychological model, might be leveraged to stimulate a more empathetic, emotional, and culturally aware design practice. The investigation seeks to explore: Can the integration of Spiral Dynamics Theory into design practice help produce sensitive and effective solutions for foreign cultural and social contexts? Can psychological models help designers understand how humans operate in a continually changing environment of learning and adaptation? Can such models help designers consciously change their “lens” to view the world through the strengths, struggles, and potentials of others?