We all face problems and challenges. Some of us seek them out. Some of us passionately want to change the way things are and to invest ourselves in making the world a better place and helping people flourish.
We can respond to a challenge or problem from many different approaches. Some responses are personality driven or psychologically conditioned by our culture or upbringing. Taking on a challenge with awareness and intentionality moves us into the realm of design. Design is making something with intentionality.
When the solution to a design challenge requires a measure of impact to be considered a success, impact design is an approach to consider. Impact design is an offshoot of human centered design, sometimes called design thinking.
A brief note about Human centered design and design thinking
Human centered design (HCD) cares at its core about people. Understanding the challenges or problems people face and working with them to design solutions are the hallmarks of HCD. Design thinking is an integrative approach to human centered design that forms design teams across disciplines to include social scientists, researchers, and writers—as well as highly skilled designers, strategists, and communicators. The approach is collaborative, empathetic, and heavy on feedback and rapid…
