Observing and listening: Theory of Change

Back in 2016, when I decided to pursue a design career, I was not expecting my work to have such impact, by saying this I’m not trying to compliment myself (far from it). Instead I will -try to- look into how little decisions can have big impact on other people.

Beginnings

When I formally started working as a designer, I used to work in a product which allowed users to manage their bank accounts, and I did so thinking mostly on a surface level, then I was told what I designed and then built was being actively used by over a million people monthly, which surprised me at the time, and opened my eyes into how can a little decision can have great impact when a user is interacting with it.

Take for example when we launched Plin, which is a popular P2P payment solution in Peru. The first iteration of said product did not include a payment confirmation with enough details to be shared to the person you’ve paid. This obviously brought backlash from users who said information provided on this confirmation screen is not enough to work as a proof of payment. We then were able to come out with a fix a month later.

The point I’m trying to make here is, as a junior Designer, I didn’t think much about that confirmation screen, to my eyes (and with all context at hand) it was enough, and it served the purpose. But what we saw when we went live was the opposite.

Empathizing

Users don’t see a product deconstructed screen by screen on a design file. They experience it with little context, exploring at first until they become comfortable enough to attain mastery using it.

This same concept can be applied to how society works, we as citizens do not have enough context on why a certain decision was made, until we have a negative experience with it, and its then when we often think “Aaargh, why does it has to be this way?”

I think we can safely assume the way society works today is a collective of traditions, new trends being pushed, and rules that made sense to someone a long time ago, thinking of it as if citizens were always following a ‘happy path’, which is a term used in design to describe a set of staged actions. That obviously does not apply to real life.

First was noticing

It wasn’t until 2019 when I started to think about what can one do from its side to make a change, first a bit of context:
I live in Lima, Peru, and here, rules are not followed as much as one would like, to the point that one feels as if you are required to break them as people tend to do in order to get somewhere. So I thought about being the change, this included trying to comply with the system with little actions albeit insignificant and very trivial, I was convinced this was a great first step to start the change.

It is embedded into the system

So you have a naive version of me, trying to change little by little to what (to my eyes) was ‘right’, ignoring that the way the system is designed and established so deep it’s very hard to achieve change, though, not impossible I would say.

As Arturo Escobar states on his Presentation at the RISD faculty

“Civilizational crisis, of the current model of civilitazion, climate, energy, poverty etc, is the largest framework in which we can think and re-think design.”

When I heard this talk initially, it clicked! The first thing that came to mind is how the little changes I talked about earlier connect with a re-thinking of society, and how can we make sure to include design justice, principles design and overall include design as a praxis of worldling.

And this thinking also provoked a questioning of who gets to have the power in a society, holds such responsibility which in a context like the one in Peru I talked about, can be frustrating to think about, let alone act on them.

Which connects with Sasha Costanza-Chock’s: Design Justice: Towards an Intersectional Feminist Framework for Design Theory and Practice a piece which focuses on the ways design challenges the matrix of domination (white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, capitalism, and settler colonialism).

So… how can our work have impact?

If you were to ask the 2019 me, I would’ve answered (unconsciously) that the work that I’m doing is impactful, when in reality, it was at a very surface level, directly to the interface. Thanks to the program at AC4D, I gained a deeper understanding into systemic changes, which made me realize I need to take a more holistic approach.

And to this point, I have noticed I want to affect change at the system level, by promoting collaboration and co-creation. Working with people from all backgrounds and perspectives, I believe this way we can design more inclusive, effective and sustainable solutions.

Design justice is a key tool we need to take into account when thinking about new or existing solutions, this way we can ensure a more equitable distribution of pros and cons, meaningful participation in design decisions, and recognize community based traditions, knowledge and practice, this way we don’t impose what we think the solution should be, or expecting people to adapt, change traditions in function of a product, but rather, have the product or solution adapt to them.

What’s next?

I wouldn’t want to finish this article by highlighting how valuable discussing these topics at Theory class were. It is one of the activities I enjoyed the most during out first quarter. It made me look into my self and re think everything that was established in my mindset, whether that is for good or bad.

And this enjoyment is what ultimately made me realize the program at AC4D is uncovering a passion I did not know I had, systemic design, how can we rethink whats established, update the mindset and ultimately drive towards a better, equal and fair world.