Disruption by design: Kate Canales at TEDxSMU

Summary

In this talk, the speaker, a designer, explores the concept of 'disruption by design,' emphasizing that design is not just about creating objects but about influencing behavior. She shares examples of everyday disruptions, from makeshift solutions to signs guiding behavior, highlighting human adaptability. The speaker advocates for using design to intentionally create positive change, from personal habits to broader societal issues, suggesting that we are all designers capable of initiating meaningful disruption.

Takeaways

• 🔨 Disruption can be something that happens to you, comes at you, or something you create intentionally, known as 'disruption by design'.
• 🎨 Traditionally, design is about the physical object, but in the context of disruption by design, it's about designing behavior change.
• 👀 As a designer, spending time in the field is crucial to understand how a design will behave and perform in its context.
• 📸 Observation and documentation through photography help identify opportunities for behavior change and design interventions.
• 🤝 Humans are adept at making things work, even with makeshift solutions like using a safety pin to fix glasses.
• 📦 Simple objects can signal behavior change, such as cardboard boxes indicating not to scrape a car's bumpers.
• 👥 We are good at signaling to others how we want them to adapt their behavior, like using headphones to signal 'do not disturb'.
• 🚦 Signs and signals are everywhere, guiding our behavior in various situations, often without us realizing it.
• 🍎 Objects can be used to facilitate personal behavior change, like keeping apples on a desk to avoid seeking unhealthy snacks.
• 🌐 The concept of the 'transitional object' from psychology can be applied in design to help people navigate behavioral shifts.
• 🌟 Design can be used at scale to address larger societal issues, like curbing speeding with feedback signs or managing the HIV epidemic with accessible testing.

Q & A

What does the speaker believe about everyone in the room?

The speaker believes that everyone in the room is a designer, even if they might not use that term for it.

What is the theme of the talk?

The theme of the talk is 'disruption,' which can refer to something that happens to you, comes at you, or something you create.

What is 'disruption by design' according to the speaker?

'Disruption by design' refers to the intentional creation of changes, particularly in behavior, through design.

How does the speaker define design in the context of behavior change?

In the context of behavior change, design is not just about the physical object but about what the object makes people do.

What does the speaker do when working in the field?

When working in the field, the speaker spends time observing the context of the object being designed, taking pictures, and looking for opportunities for behavior change.

What universal truth about humans does the speaker claim?

The speaker claims that humans are very good at making things work, often finding workarounds and adapting to situations.

What examples does the speaker provide of human adaptability?

Examples include using a safety pin to fix glasses, a woman using a plastic bag to protect her camera from rain, and people finding places to plug in electronics at airports.

How do humans signal to each other about behavior adaptation?

Humans signal behavior adaptation through various means, such as using cardboard boxes to protect car bumpers or wearing headphones to indicate a desire not to be disturbed.

What is a 'transitional object' in psychology?

A 'transitional object' in psychology is an object, like a child's blankie or teddy bear, that helps navigate a psychological shift, such as moving from attachment to the mother to becoming an individual.

How can the concept of a transitional object be applied to design?

The concept of a transitional object can be applied to design by intentionally creating objects that prompt behavior change, helping people navigate shifts in their behavior or habits.

What is the speaker's final suggestion for how we should approach design?

The speaker suggests that we should 'design the change' or 'design the disruption' we wish to see in the world, implying that design can be a powerful tool for creating positive change.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Designing for Behavior Change

The speaker introduces themselves as a designer and suggests that everyone has the potential to be a designer. They discuss the theme of disruption, which can be something that happens to you, comes at you, or something you create intentionally. The speaker emphasizes that design is not just about the physical object but also about designing behavior change. They share experiences from their fieldwork, where they observe and photograph people adapting to situations, which they consider a form of design and disruption. The speaker highlights that humans are adept at making things work and adapting their behavior, sharing examples such as using a plastic bag to protect a camera from rain or using cardboard boxes to prevent car bumpers from being scraped.

05:02

🚦 Signals and Adaptations

The speaker continues to discuss how humans are good at adapting and signaling to others how to adapt their behavior. They share examples of explicit signals, such as signs, that instruct people on what to do. The speaker has collected photographs of such signs, like a credit card swiper that instructs users to use their finger for transactions or a kitchen sign detailing how to use a dishwasher. They also mention more implicit signals, like wearing headphones to indicate a desire for quiet, and how these signals become second nature to us. The speaker concludes by discussing how sometimes we need objects to help us change our behavior, like using a lock on a refrigerator to aid in dieting.

10:02

🔄 Disruption as a Transitional Object

The speaker delves into the concept of the 'transitional object,' which is used in psychology to describe an object that helps children navigate a psychological shift from attachment to independence. They explain how this concept can be applied to design, where objects can be used to prompt behavior change. The speaker gives examples of how objects can be used to create change, such as an alarm clock that rolls away to make you get out of bed or a pocket-sized HIV test designed for home use. They emphasize that the design of these objects is not just about their physical form but about the change in behavior they inspire.

15:04

🌟 Designing Disruption at Scale

The speaker concludes by discussing how design can be used to create large-scale disruption. They share a historical example of how students integrated a racially segregated movie theater by buying out a show and refusing to move from the designated 'black' seats. The speaker points out that this was a deliberate act of design, where the action itself was the disruption that led to change. They encourage the audience to embrace their role as designers and to use their skills to create the change they wish to see in the world, suggesting that we should design the disruption we wish to see.

Keywords

💡Disruption

In the context of the video, 'disruption' refers to the act of interrupting the usual order or pattern of things to create a change. It can be something that happens unexpectedly or is deliberately designed. The speaker emphasizes 'disruption by design,' which is about intentionally creating changes to influence behavior or systems. For example, the video mentions using design to disrupt and change behavior, such as using a plastic bag to protect a camera from rain, which is a simple but effective disruption to the normal expectation of camera use.

💡Design

The term 'design' in the video is used to describe the process of creating solutions to problems or needs, often with the aim of influencing behavior. It extends beyond the traditional notion of physical objects and includes designing for behavior change. The speaker argues that design is not just about the physical thing but what the thing makes us do, highlighting the importance of understanding context and user behavior. For instance, the video discusses how a simple cardboard box can be used to signal caution and change driver behavior.

💡Behavior Change

Behavior change is a central theme in the video, where it refers to the modification of human actions or habits, often in response to a designed object or intervention. The speaker suggests that design can be a tool for intentionally creating behavior change, such as using an object to signal a need for a different action or response. An example from the script is using a lock on a refrigerator to discourage overeating, which is a physical design meant to provoke a change in eating behavior.

💡Context

Context in the video refers to the circumstances or environment in which something occurs. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding the context when designing for behavior change, as it influences how a design will be perceived and used. The video mentions the speaker's practice of carrying a camera to document behaviors in context, such as people adapting to their surroundings in creative ways, like using a plastic bag to protect a camera from rain.

💡Signaling

Signaling in the video is about using cues or signs to communicate expectations or instructions, often to guide behavior. The speaker discusses how both subtle and explicit signals can be designed into objects or environments to prompt certain behaviors. For example, the video describes how a simple Post-It note can signal the correct way to use a credit card swiper, changing the user's behavior to align with the intended use.

💡Adaptation

Adaptation in the video is used to describe how people modify their behavior or use of objects to fit their needs or overcome limitations. The speaker highlights human ingenuity in adapting to situations, such as using a cardboard box to protect a car's bumpers or sitting on the floor of an airport to access a power outlet. These adaptations show how people can disrupt the intended use of objects or spaces to suit their purposes.

💡Thing

Throughout the video, 'thing' is used to represent physical objects or tangible items that can be designed to influence behavior. The speaker argues that while design is often associated with the creation of things, in the context of behavior change, it's more about what the thing makes us do. For instance, a speed feedback sign is not just a 'thing' but a tool that makes drivers aware of their speed and potentially alters their driving behavior.

💡Transitional Object

A transitional object, as discussed in the video, is an item that helps individuals navigate a significant change or transition. It is often used in child psychology to describe objects like a teddy bear that help a child transition from dependency to independence. The speaker extends this concept to design, suggesting that designed objects can serve as transitional objects to facilitate behavior change, such as a pocket-sized HIV test that allows for private and discreet testing.

💡Disruption by Design

This term from the video encapsulates the idea of intentionally creating disruptions to achieve a desired outcome or change. The speaker uses this phrase to differentiate between disruptions that occur naturally and those that are strategically designed. An example given is the historical act of students integrating a movie theater by buying out a show and sitting together, which was a deliberate design to disrupt the existing segregation policy.

💡Pattern

In the video, 'pattern' refers to a regularity or repetition in behavior or events that can be observed and potentially altered through design. The speaker suggests that by recognizing patterns in the world, designers can identify opportunities for disruption to create positive changes. For example, the video mentions how observing patterns of misuse or confusion can lead to the design of signs or instructions that guide correct behavior.

Highlights

Everyone in the room is a designer, even if they don't use that word for it.

Disruption can be something that happens to you, comes at you, or something you create.

Disruption by Design is about designing behavior change, not just the physical object.

Design is not just about the thing, but what the thing makes us do.

Designers spend time in the field to understand how their designs will behave in context.

Humans are very good at making things work, even with simple workarounds.

Adaptations like using a plastic bag to protect a camera from rain are forms of design and disruption.

We signal to others how we want them to adapt their behavior through our actions and objects.

Objects can be used to signal behavior change, like wearing headphones to indicate 'do not disturb'.

Signs and signals are often necessary to guide behavior, like instructions on a credit card swiper.

Sometimes we need explicit instructions to perform actions, like using a dishwasher.

Objects can be used to prompt behavior change, like apples on a desk to avoid unhealthy snacks.

The concept of the transitional object helps us navigate psychological shifts and can be designed for behavior change.

Designing for behavior change can be done at scale, like speed signs that give feedback on driving speed.

A pocket-sized HIV test designed for home use can change the course of an epidemic by encouraging testing.

Disruption by Design can lead to significant social changes, like the integration of a movie theater in the 1940s.

We should design the change we wish to see in the world, leveraging our natural tendency to make things work.

Transcripts

[Music]

hello I am a

designer next slide there we go and I

actually believe that everyone in this

room is a designer you just might not be

using that word for it um as you know

today's theme is disruption and

disruption can mean a lot of things it

can mean something that happens to you

it can definitely be something that

comes at you and it can also could be

something that you create when you see a

pattern in the world and you want to

change something disruption can be

something that you do on purpose

deliberately so let's call that

disruption by Design and when we're

talking about disruption by design it is

true that design is not about the thing

although historically design is all

about the thing the shape it takes the

color um the way it looks the way it

operates but in in this case we're

talking about designing Behavior change

and when we talk about designing

Behavior change it's not about the thing

it's about what the thing makes us do

so I really do mean the thing because uh

you you really have to have a thing

often no one just conjures Behavior

change you actually have to have

something that Sparks Behavior change

and often that thing is a thing in my

work as a designer I spend a lot of time

in the field which means that I'm

actually out in the context of the thing

that we're making to understand how it's

going to behave and how it's going to

perform in that context I carry a camera

a lot I take a lot of pictures and I've

trained my brain and my eye to look for

certain things for certain opportunities

for behaviors that mean something and

when I see those things I often take a

picture and I'm going to show you some

of those in a minute

um this is something that I've learned

from my work in the field this is sort

of a universal truth and I don't know if

you believe me or not but I'm going to

try to prove it to you today that humans

are very good at making things work now

if we think about this as literally

things we're very good at this so take

um your glasses break and you put a

little safety pin in the hinge to keep

the earpiece from falling off that's a

really good workaround that's a really

good um Behavior that's the kind of

thing I'm looking for in the field and

that is a form of design it's also a

form in a very small scale of disruption

because you're taking something that

isn't working and you're changing in

it

so these are some pictures that I would

like to share with you from my

collection of examples of this happening

so this is a woman uh this taken on a

train this woman is um protecting her

camera from the rain it was raining that

day so really simple need she puts a

plastic bag over her camera and voila

problem

solved uh this woman is on the floor of

the airport and uh she even though there

are many chairs available at this

particular gate she's sitting on the

floor because this is where she can plug

in her laptop now this is a pretty

familiar scene right at the airport

these days in fact we we sort of VI for

these really valuable spots on the floor

at the airport so we can plug in our

electronics and you can tell from the

angle of the photograph that I am

sitting on the floor across the terminal

from her taking this

picture um this woman has found a very

clever place to put her beer while she

eats her H

derves and this is a picture that I took

took out the window of my car in San

Francisco endangering myself and my

fellow drivers because I had to have

this picture of a man washing his car

with a

Swiffer so we're very good at adapting

our own behavior um and we're actually

really good at signaling to other people

how we would like for them to adapt

their behavior so let's look at a couple

of examples the driver of this car um

has put cardboard boxes on either side

of the car to signal to us that it's

really important to him that we not

scrape up his bumpers now these are just

cardboard boxes right but it's not about

the thing it's about what the thing

makes us

do this is my colleague Michael and

Michael's sitting at his desk in our

Design Studio we work in a really big

open plan um Studio where nobody has an

office or a door to clothes so we've

kind of adapted this signal to one

another that if you're wearing your

headphones it means you're listening to

music you're in the zone you do not wish

to be disturbed it's become such a

popular signal in fact that I often put

on my headphones without any music just

to get some peace and quiet and so in

this case it's really not about the

thing it's about what the thing makes my

colleagues

do sometimes we need a more explicit

signal we need to actually be written

out for us what it is that we're

supposed to be doing in a given

situation and what follows is but a

small sampling of my collection of

photographs of signs signaling

Behavior this is from a credit card

swiper at a convenience store pretty

simple please use your finger to

complete the transaction um now what I

love about this is that there was there

was some kind of pattern of misuse or

confusion that led to the need for this

sign and it's a really simple thing it's

just a little Post-It note they stuck it

on there but it's not about the thing

it's about what the thing makes us

do I think we can all recognize what the

pattern was that led to the need for

that sign this one's a little harder to

read so I'll read it for you this is

taped to the kitchen wall near a

dishwasher it says to use dishwasher

first turn on the cold water faucet and

run the garbage disposer at the same

time until the sink drain is clear then

shut off the cold water and the garbage

disposer then turn on the

dishwasher if you were to find if you

were to talk to this person and say does

your dishwasher work yes or no they

would say yes because it does just with

a lot of adaptations

I think this one speaks for

itself and I'm going to zoom in on this

so you can see it in a minute I took

this at a hotel room in Boston um where

I was staying this summer and I wanted

you to to see that the um this is a sign

that's put right up against the ceiling

near the fire sprinkler and it says do

not hang items from sprinkler head this

will cause

flooding now sure enough there were very

few places in this hotel room where you

could hang things was kind of annoying

and if you were cleverly working around

that problem you might put some things

from the sprinkler and um the hotel

recognized that this was kind of a

problem but instead of installing

hooks they had these little signs

custommade presumably hundreds of them

and stuck them into the into all of the

hotel rooms and there's still nowhere to

hang

anything

I I can't even imagine what led to the

need for the second sign much less the

third

sign so a lot of times I mean these are

really funny and we see these all the

time right there're actually some really

elegant um signals that we follow every

day that we don't even see they become

second nature to us they're really

invisible signals that prompt our

Behavior but we don't even think about

it so here's one we don't think about

this we don't think oh I am now being

prompted to cross the street we just

cross the street when we see the signal

this is taken at airport security in

Denver which has a pretty significant

airport security situation happening up

at front in the front and I mean can you

imagine the behavior that would ensue if

we were expected to uh if if we weren't

expected to line up at airport security

we would scramble all over each other so

these little lane ropes that they've

created to kind of keep us orderly and

get us to go where they need is to go um

are really very clever things the the

the objects themselves are very well

designed they sort of retract and can be

reconfigured but it's not about the

thing it's about what the thing makes us

do and here's one that you almost never

notice but painted lines on on concrete

are the difference between Order and

Chaos in a parking lot so I think you'll

agree from these examples that humans

are very good at making things work when

we have to

you know it's raining and you need to

protect your camera you find a plastic

bag but what about when we just want to

when the disruption that we're looking

for is actually something that would

just be kind of nice like it' be great

if you finish your degree it would be

great if you lost a few

pounds I've noticed that with these

kinds of things there are a lot of

things that work for different people

but often we also need a thing in these

situations we need something to actually

change our Behavior so for example with

dieting we hear of people who put a lock

on their refrigerator or who sleep in

their gym clothes so they can get to the

gym a little easier in the next morning

my friend Stephen has found that if he

keeps apples on his desk he won't go in

search of the chocolate because as he

puts it sloth is more powerful than

[Laughter]

[Applause]

gluttony so these

objectifications of the change really

are an EXC excuse to behave differently

we take the idea of the change out of

our heads and put it into the world into

our space right in our faces and they

make us work around them they make us

they force the behavior change that

we're looking

for so this is not these are not just

things that we do for ourselves there's

a market for this stuff this is an alarm

clock that rolls off your bedside table

and forces you to chase it around the

room to turn it

[Laughter]

off so the idea of using an object to

help make a change actually overlaps

with a concept in Psychology called the

transitional object and this is a

concept that was introduced to me by a

mentor of mine Peter Coughlin many years

ago but it wasn't until recently that I

totally nerded out on it the

transitional object is most commonly

used in child psychology to talk about a

blankie or a teddy bear that a child

uses to navigate a really important

psychological shift away from attachment

to the mother and into to sort of an

individual being and this object which

is separate from the mother and separate

from the child is what makes that shift

possible it is just like airport

security if we were just if it was just

simply suggested to us that we politely

cue at airport security and respect our

fellow Travelers in their flight times

we would not be able to handle that

psychologically we could not handle that

we' be scrambling for the gate and so

those little Lan lines are that are a

transitional object in this case and

this gets me really excited because that

means that the transitional object is

not just something that happens like a

teddy bear that a kid happens to get

attached to it is a designed artifact it

is something that we can put in place on

purpose we can do this deliberately to

change behavior and then I get really

really really excited when I think about

how we could do that at

scale we have established that making

things work is something that we do as a

natural human tendency but what if we

all banded together and and sort of put

this tendency against some of the

problems that we share as a group and if

you look we actually have done this in a

few great places so these speed these

speed signs that give you feedback on

your speed are the number one most

effective way to curb speeding uh on

surface streets and I find this

fascinating because this is information

that is already available to the driver

in the

dashboard

um to take a a slightly larger problem

than um speeding uh this is a a pocket

sized HIV test that you can take at home

this was designed by some of my

colleagues uh at frog and it's part of a

much larger initiative this is designed

for distribution in South Africa and

some of the most hardest hit communities

by HIV um what we found in our research

is that there are a lot of really

legitimate and and emotional reasons

reasons uh that people won't get tested

in a clinic so there are a lot of people

who don't know their HIV status and

that's contributing to a much bigger

problem these are designed to fit in

your pocket um and they're very discreet

you can do it at home where it's

Anonymous

and the thing itself is really

beautifully designed actually the way it

unfolds the lid becomes the holder for

the saliva test while the test is

running um but it's not about the thing

it's about what the thing makes us do

and in this case the thing gives access

to a vital piece of information that

could ultimately change the course of an

epidemic I'm going to offer one final

example this is a story um about

something that takes place inside a

movie theater like this and this is from

a book one of my favorite books on

design called by design by a man named

Ralph Kaplan it takes place inside a

theater like this in the late

1940s in the Midwest and at that time

the the movie theater had a segregation

policy like many movie theaters at that

time the black patrons were required to

sit in the last four roads of the

theater and this policy had been in

place for as long as anybody could

remember but um it was it was definitely

not approved of by the entire community

and a lot of people had tried to fight

it in particular um community members at

the local University so that they had

written letters uh they had come in

person to meet with the manager as far

as the manager was concerned this wasn't

really an ethical issue at all it

was was a commercial issue he felt that

there were a lot of white patrons who

would stop buying tickets if this policy

weren't in place so one evening a large

group of students bought out a single

show and when the doors opened they

flooded in and white students filled the

last four rows completely the rest of

the theater was filled by black and

white students together creating total

racial integration the manager figured

out what was going on and he came in and

he tried to fix it he demanded that the

black students move but move where they

said the last four rows are completely

packed the white students in the last

four rows refused to change seats he

kind of threw up his hands and said well

just this once at least I sold out the

show the next morning letters and

telegrams flooded in commending him for

his courageous reversal of this policy

public figures declared him a Civic

leader and the newspapers uh ran stories

about this historic decision to

integrate the theater after something

like that you're not going to go back to

your segregation

policy and I love this because this is

disruption by Design and that's exactly

what this was this was design the

students plann this in advance the press

releases were prepared well before the

event actually happened and you know

it's it's just such a brilliant example

of what you can do now there's not a

thing in this story there's no thing

there's an action and in my mind that

counts because it's not about what it's

not about the action it's about what the

action made happen in this

place so this is design and we are

designers and I mean we I mean

you we can do this we already are doing

it we're putting apples on our desks

we're painting lines in our parking lots

we're doing this already let's do it

big

Gandhi is credited as having said be the

change you wish to see in the world

there was a great column in the New York

Times this summer by a guy named Brian

Morton which reveals that there is

absolutely no evidence that Gandhi ever

said

this which is too bad because it's so

piffy and it looks so good on a greeting

card um what he did say is

this if we could change ourselves the

tendencies in the world would also

change which is is pretty

close so since we are evidently in the

pattern of changing Gandhi's words I

would like to offer this further tweak

design the change you wish to see in the

world or maybe even better design the

disruption you wish to see in the world

thank

[Applause]

you