Dezeen promotion: successful design means designing for nature and is "one of the greatest business opportunities in the history of mankind," according to designer and CEO of Massive Change Network Bruce Mau.
Mau is a Canadian-born designer, author and teacher who has worked with leading international brands including Coca-Cola. His Chicago-based design consultancy The Massive Change Network (MCN) uses design-thinking methodology to help develop sustainable solutions to global problems.
In his talk How Design Can Change the World, delivered during Business of Design Week (BODW) 2021 in Hong Kong, Mau focused on how designers can help create sustainable ways of living. The designer believes that empathy is key to the design process as it helps with problem-solving. "Empathy is really at the core of everything I do," explained Mau. "When you think about what a designer does, we start with empathy and try to understand the problem that helps us solve it."
Bruce Mau says that "design should be part of life and not separate from it".
According to Mau, modern design practices have not previously had empathy for the environment. Instead, things are designed as if humans own nature, the designer said.
"Everything is designed as if we own nature and as if we're not part of nature," said Mau. "As if nature is unlimited."
In contrast, Mau discussed his enterprise design method, which he says is underpinned by empathy and an...