If 2020 has taught us one thing, it is that everything, and everyone on this planet, is connected. Whether an idea, a mobile application, or a virus, it can travel across the globe at great speed. The consequences of decisions taken in one company, or one part of the world, can affect seemingly unrelated people, places, and industries. This New Year, let’s resolve to design a better future, in whichever capacity we can.

Don Norman, the (grand)father of human-centered design, illustrates complex socio-technical problems with the example of recycling. In his two-part essay for FastCompany, he writes:

“I am an expert on complex design systems. Even I can’t figure out recycling.”

He describes in detail how difficult it is for people to send their household waste to get recycled. There are different rules for different materials — paper, plastics, glass, metals. And within a category, say, plastic, there are different rules for different types of plastic at different places. Not all plastics can be recycled. Those that can be recycled, demand specialized equipment and processes that are not universally available.

“Recycling is a poor solution to the wrong problem.”

— Don Norman

The complexity of recycling is a problem. But why do we need to recycle at all?

Because most of the products we use in our lives are made from non-reusable materials. Consider smartphones — most, if not all, have batteries that cannot be separated from the device. If your battery no longer functions as intended, you must replace it with a new phone.

What if the iPhone had a removable battery, that could be fixed or replaced so that you didn’t have to throw out the entire phone, if (when) the battery died? What if companies decided to take back all their material, and put them back into the manufacturing process? What if phones weren’t built to crack or become obsolete within a short time?

The business and design decisions of one manufacturing company are just one of the many factors that are building up piles of garbage on the planet.

The problems of the world today — from pandemic to poverty, and from climate change to the fight for human rights — are complicated. They do not have an easy solution — or they would have been fixed by now. They do not have a single underlying cause, and it is difficult to predict the consequences of a solution.

Don Norman believes that these complex socio-technical problems should be tackled using Design Thinking. Designers’ tools and techniques can help us make sense of ambiguous and complex problems and solve them. Here’s how:

1. Get to the root causes of problems: When faced with a problem, designers fight the urge to look for solutions right away. Most problems only present themselves in the form of symptoms. While symptoms are easy to solve, the problem rarely ever is. Plastic waste may not be the problem, the ubiquitous use of plastic in mass manufacturing would be one step closer to the root problem.
   Designers dig deep to understand the right problem to solve, before thinking about solutions.
2. Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams: Designers usually enter any problem space as outsiders, with little knowledge of the problem domain. Being an outsider gives designers the advantage to look at problems from a fresh perspective, with beginner’s eyes, and the opportunity to ask ‘stupid’ questions that experienced professionals may take for granted. A designer may ask, “Why are phones made of plastic?”, or “Why do they become obsolete so fast?” An answer such as, “The material is cheap,” or “New technologies don’t work on old hardware,” can prompt designers to probe further into the problem, or spark ideas for solutions.
   Designers collaborate with people with experts from multiple fields to help them get a better picture of the problem and potential solutions.
3. Keep people at the center of solutions: Designers think of solutions with people-first. For solutions to work, people need to adopt them. And people are likely to adopt solutions when they actively participate in seeking solutions. People-first solutions do not mean that designers simply drop by and say, “Here, we think this solution will help you”. Rather, it is likely that people already have solutions or ‘hacks’ to get what they want. For example, people may not like to throw away their phones, or they may pass them on to other people. People may refuse to update their phone’s operating systems to prevent obsolescence.
   Designers — foreigners to the problem — look at these solutions, and build upon them.
4. Start small and continuously iterate: Designers recognize that the first solution is rarely the best or appropriate solution. They start small, create prototypes, test them, and learn from their experiments. They could start with backward-compatible mobile applications that work on older devices. They can build prototypes of phones which can be assembled with custom parts, or even experiment with plant-based biodegradable plastics. Through small tests, designers get insights into what works, what doesn’t work, and perhaps even revise their problem statement based on the results of their tests.

Don Norman calls for design to move from small, simple things to designing systems. The designers’ way of thinking can be applied to problems in any field, and work especially well where the solutions are not straightforward, and where existing solutions only treat the symptoms of a more complicated underlying problem.

In our capacity as designers, we may not single-handedly solve complex socio-technical problems, but we can certainly consider the impact of our work in our interconnected world — whether a mobile application that helps us connect with our peers, or an employment platform that’s inclusive and accessible, or a ride-sharing platform that encourages people to car-pool (once the pandemic is over, of course). This new year, let’s pledge to design a better 2021, in whichever capacity we can.

I’m Co-Founder at The Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF), where we believe that design needn’t (and shouldn’t) be the monopoly of a handful of people. As the world’s largest online design school, the IxDF has already helped over 96,000 people from 100+ countries to become (better) designers. Plus, as a non-profit, we are on a mission to make the world a better-designed place — through high-quality and affordable design education.

With the help of industry leaders like Don Norman, William Hudson, Alan Dix, Laura Klein, and Frank Spillers, to name a few, we’ve created over 30 courses that cover the full spectrum of UX design, from beginner to advanced concepts.

Our courses and our course certificates are trusted by leading educational institutions and companies around the world.

As a UX Planet reader, you can get a 25% discount on access to all IxDF courses for an entire year! This includes an additional 90% discount on all IxDF webinars with design experts, and over $680 in savings on top UX/UI tools. What’s more, you’ll also join the world’s largest professional network of designers.

As a part of IxDF, you can get the expert advice, content, credentials and support you need to make 2021 the most definitive year of your UX career.

Here’s wishing you a happy, safer, and healthier 2021.

References and Where to Learn More

Read the original two-part essay by Don Norman about why recycling is a poor solution to the wrong problem on his website:
https://jnd.org/recycling-a-poor-solution-to-the-wrong-problem/