DESIGNING OUT UNWANTED HEALTHCARE FUTURES: A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR HEALTHCARE DESIGN INNOVATION WITH INTENT

Abstract

At the time of a global pandemic, it is becoming acutely evident that design has to intensify efforts to move beyond reactive tackling of healthcare challenges as they occur, towards a proactive approach of designing-out unwanted healthcare futures before they become a reality. As healthcare design navigates towards more distant horizons, the scale and magnitude of design challenges increase. New approaches to envisioning and negotiating preferable healthcare futures across disciplines are required in order to make that shift successful. In this paper, we discuss the application of a new trans-disciplinary approach applied within burst-mode healthcare design education of professionals from multidisciplinary backgrounds. This strategic design-led innovation approach distinguishes between desirable and undesirable futures. It employs futures scoping methods, alongside the identification of technology drivers and enablers, to understand the target landscape and to design strategic pathways toward paving design interventions. Tools, such as the four futures of Jim Dator and NASA TRLs, are used alongside collaborative mood boarding to visualise possible futures and facilitate concept generation utilising moon-shot thinking and back casting.