Inherent to all design solutions is the solving of a problem by changing order. Designers rethink and reorder to get new results. New results are what everyone is looking for: our society, our culture, our community, our clients all want and need new outcomes to situations that baffle them on a daily basis. That is why, inevitably, design is the answer. 

Now when I say design, I mean design in its broadest, most thought provoking sense. I am not only referring to design within specific disciplines. The best designers can and do reconsider and reorder the world—in their minds—all the time. The best designers are engineers, developers, graphic designers, architects, chefs and others, who know the elements involved and know how to re-order everything and anything to get a new result. 

At Go East, “Design Response,” is our internal initiative that encourages everyone to apply their design skills—thinking, solving, reordering, refining, etc.—to the chaos around us. The results have been extraordinary.

Posing the assignment, “Use design to respond to high gas prices” elicits a vast array of online, offline, internal, and community solutions that excite us to push for the big solutions.

• Gourmet gasoline inspires other premium positioning projects.
• Online mileage tracking widgets show how costly each trip to Starbucks really is.
• A social community of lunch-goers coordinates efforts, saves gas and creates sales opportunity for local vendors.
• An imaginary map of what widespread public or alternative transportation in Minnesota could look like inspires conversations about the benefits of mass transportation. 

In each case, design thinking about the project is diverse, visionary and expansive, which is exactly what our culture needs today. And it gives us the opportunity to flex our individual and collective smarts. Nothing is more satisfying than that.

Posted on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 by Carla Januska