ABSTRACT
Design is growing increasingly important and relevant in projects that aim to tackle major global challenges. Yet despite this, design can sometimes be difficult to describe and its methods unclear and imprecise. In this chapter, the term ‘design’ is established as a creative, people-centred approach to problem-solving that transcends both the conceptualisation of abstract ideas and the tools and processes to make them real. Design thinking is introduced as a concept that has gained traction in recent decades for tackling business and societal challenges and one that is becoming increasingly used to tackle global problems that are inherently wicked. The design process is introduced through the established UK Design Council double-diamond and numerous low-, medium- and high-contact research methods are outlined. Despite its growing use, the same design attributes that that are beneficial in tackling global issues also pose challenges and further work for the field. Notably, the ambiguity of outcomes at project inception, the shift from person-centred to community-centred research, the difficulty of measuring success and the bureaucracy of interconnected solutions all pose questions for further exploration.
