As the world muddles its way through this period of profound uncertainty, design must assume yet another mandate. Well beyond surface aesthetics and smooth usability, good design today calls for empathy, adaptability, resilience, and accountability. This new paradigm asks more of designers and challenges them to imagine solutions to pressing challenges.
Through my work with iF Design, I have the privilege of engaging with extraordinary changemakers and thought leaders around the world, and what I see is a powerful and evolving imperative: Design must be human-centered, environmentally responsive, and future-focused. The insights that follow offer examples of this new paradigm in action. I hope the expert perspectives spark a renewed sense of optimism about the future and deliver hope for design’s power to drive meaningful change. A new era of design is here, and it’s up to companies and designers alike to embrace the opportunity.
Empathy
Great design solves human problems; but to solve these problems, we must first identify them. Sure, technology and creativity are crucial, but the first step is always empathy. This goes beyond simply asking what users want; it involves getting immersed in their experiences, listening to their stories, observing their behaviors, and uncovering unspoken pain points and aspirations. This insight can then inform design choices, ensuring that products, services, and spaces feel intuitive, supportive, and resonant for the community(ies) that use them.
Richard Trigg is a longtime design leader, UX strategist, and design partner at Tangent in London. When I asked how he defines great design, Trigg responded that his approach is “all about empathy.” He added, “I’ve worked across every kind of design from brand communications to digital products, but the thread that ties it all together is empathy—designing experiences that help people complete their goals while supporting business objectives and increasingly, the planet too.”
Adaptability
Today, the world moves at an even faster pace than just a few years ago, and design is no exception. In this rapidly shifting landscape where AI and other emerging technologies threaten domination, and cultural sensitivities shift with the tides, adaptability is essential. We’ve seen once cutting-edge designs become obsolete almost overnight and award-winning creative “cancelled” without warning. These examples underscore just how quickly technology can reshape society, and how anything that fails to take the future into consideration risks being left behind.
Adaptability isn’t just a competitive advantage. It’s the foundation of lasting impact. The most successful designs are responsive, and account for the inevitability of change. Moreover, great design historically and now again increasingly, is built to be repaired, reused, and updated versus discarded.
Kenny Arnold, a circular designer at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, believes this will continue to be an important trend in design. “However, companies should be able to clearly explain and provide evidence of how they incorporate circular design attributes into a product,” (e.g. provide spare parts, easy repair, product as a service, etc.). By embracing flexibility and continuous evolution, we can create real solutions that remain relevant and create less waste.
Resilience
Among the areas of design most impacted by the climate crisis is our built environment. Increasingly, architects, urban planners, interior designers, and landscape architects have a growing urgency to respond and anticipate what’s still coming.
As Achim Nagel, architect and managing director of Primus Developments, a German real estate development company focused on creating sustainable and innovative residential and commercial buildings, says: “I strongly believe that right now, we have a historical chance to develop completely new ideas and designs that help us form a safer and more resilient habitat for mankind. Perhaps not sophisticated and elegant in the ways we think of design today, but definitely NEW.”
Lisa SanFilippo, also an architect and now the senior design specialist in sustainability at market leader Turner Construction, describes the mandate as she sees it: “Ultimately, resilient design is about anticipating disruption and responding in a way that protects people, supports recovery, and reduces long-term impact. It’s not about overbuilding. It’s about designing smarter, planning earlier, and making decisions that reflect both climate reality and human priorities.”
In both cases, we’re talking about a shift from short-term cost to long-term value, serving people and the planet in a risk-informed way.
Accountability
According to Harvard Business Review, while 65% of consumers say they want to buy purpose-driven or sustainable brands, only about 26% actually do.We spoke about this issue with Joe Brown, founder, publisher, and editorial director of one5c, an action-oriented sustainability and climate action publication. “Companies, no matter who runs them, are ultimately beholden to the people who use their products. When consumers prioritize sustainability, it pushes companies to respond. But the products need to exist first.” Rightfully, Joe calls this “a chicken-and-egg issue” where designers must create options consumers are eager to choose.
Enter design. If consumers are ready to hold themselves accountable, it’s time for designers to do the same. In recent years, major brands have paid lip service to sustainable initiatives, recognizing environmental consciousness as a powerful value-add in today’s market. Yet, as statistics show, many consumers are unwilling to sacrifice quality, functionality, aesthetic appeal, or affordability for the more sustainable alternative. The solution is clear: Designers must make sustainability a nonnegotiable in every design, while businesses must figure out how to make it profitable for shareholders and safe for workers. Exceptional design and responsibility can not only coexist, but must. Accountability from designers and their management will not only help the planet and consumers, but will future-proof leading companies.
Final word
A simple answer to the environmental crisis posed by harmful, short-lived products is the principle of “fewer, better” which was of course, the core philosophy of Bauhaus and other great design movements throughout time. This proposition calls for designs that are empathetic, adaptable, resilient and accountable to people and planet, our present and shared future.
May the design and business worlds be inspired to rise to the challenge.
Lisa Gralnek is global head of sustainability and impact for iF Design, managing director of iF Design USA Inc., and creator/host of the podcast, FUTURE OF XYZ.
