Palak Dudani and Eva Hugenschimdt
Systemic design is an emerging practice and is getting more and more well-known within the industry. However, it is still far from being a mainstream discipline with designers still trying to get buy-in and make a case for its adoption within commercial projects. The authors have been engaging with systemic design individually over the years in different capacities such as education, research and practice. Over the two years from Autumn 2022 to Spring 2024, the authors set forward to bring together their systemic design learnings and expertise and translate that in the context of the practice-based consultancy environment.
This paper outlines the thinking, decision making and approaches taken to build capacity within a commercial set-up and highlights reflections on navigating the process within a global consultancy. The authors describe a multi-pronged approach to capacity building, including advocating, relationship building, establishing fundamentals, training on new tools, building an archive, and shaping new client offerings. The paper reflects on the importance of cross-disciplinary networks both inside the organisation and outside, and how potentially bringing systemic design into non-design spaces might be a way to strengthen its place within industry.
KEYWORDS: systemic design, capacity building, practice, consultancy