the big question profiles+Data
user experience
process about
transparency design ethics
process
 What is our method? To understand the purpose of design in the changing world from both the producer’s and consumer’s perspective, the process encompassed three repeating steps: refine, develop, and conduct. First, conversation among the researchers was conducted in order to answer the question “why does design matter”, coming to a realization that the answers derived from this exercise was incoherent and needed much refinement. Consequently, the following four questions were developed to further understand the question: "How will design impact our future? When has design failed you? Where is design most effective? What is a designer’s responsibility?" By asking these questions to fellow co-workers within Gensler, engaging conversations allowed us to identify of how producers understand design and the common themes that appeared throughout. With common themes identified, data was refined, resulting in a conclusion that there are four overarching categories: community, environment, technology, and quality of life. To understand these categories better, we transposed them into six general questions: How would you define design? How do you get to work everyday? What types of spaces do you feel most comfortable/ uncomfortable in? What can technology bring to design? What is one thing that improve your quality of life? What makes a good experience? With these questions, a series of public interviews was conducted to understand design from the perspective of the consumers. Individuals of various professions and cultural backgrounds were surveyed, with varying opinions of design and why it matters. Further data were also collected and analyzed through panel discussions within the Gensler community, which uncovered three common themes that affect the impact of design: Transparency of the design process Designer and end-user relationship Design ethics In hindsight, the cyclical processing of questioning and gathering data allowed for a more comprehensive set of data critical to arriving at the conclusion of this phase of the research.