ABSTRACT
Design in its many guises has served our modern economy since its inception, shaping, forming and responding to demands of clients and commissioners, evolving alongside changing needs of industry. But have we reached the limits of the modernist design paradigm and the usefulness of human-centred notions of progress? This chapter asks what kind of technologies will shape future organisations in the short, medium and longer terms, and how might design enable responsiveness to the challenges ahead? It argues that designers have an important role to play in shaping the transition to a new economy and in bringing to life the idea of ‘purposeful innovation’ through collective practice. It states that purposeful innovation means moving beyond ‘simple solutions’ to complex challenges, to embracing complexity by creating more emergent, responsive, inclusive, systemic and effective (RISE) propositions. It will argue that in this context, design practice also needs to adapt and evolve.
