Page 97 - Design meets Business:An Ethnographic Study of the Changing Work and Occupations of Creatives
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                Establishing an emotional connection to work and greater community of craft
Experimenting with Mural helped the designers to expand their design toolkit while reinforcing the ‘norm’ of ‘reinventing design tools’ in the wider community of the craft
Carrie and Jane are looking at the Mural, and again I [fieldwork- er] realize how they searched, selected, and got used to using a new tool. Moreover, how ‘normal’ it is for them to experiment with new tools. When I ask Jane about it, tells me that she loves to learn how new tools work, and that
is why she spent so much time making Mural work. (Fieldnotes, 09.02.2017)
The designers spend hours in developing Pensiopoly. Besides that it could help them engage the end users in a ‘fun way’, it al- lowed them to connect with their work and bring back something fun and tangible in their primarily intangible work.
I asked if it is normal for the designers to make board games. Carrie responds: “It is the first time for me. It is good for person- al development, we learn some- thing... Nadia added to this: “and Pensiopoly was good for [purpos- es of] co-creation ... you need
to make it not boring. You do not only want to suck the information out of users, but create it with them, and have fun while doing so.” (Fieldnotes, 07.02.2017)
Gaining a sense of control in design processes
The clients asked for more in- volvement in the work processes of designers. As a response, the designers developed Pensiopoly to ‘show’ that they include the feedback of clients, while at the same time maintaining control over its outcomes.
“Nadia said: “Richard [client] send the Mural to the Ramble [workshop] participants, and
they have been filling it in over the weekend”. Lara, the project manager said: “we told him we would send such activities 1 or 2 a month”. Natalia: “Yeah, none of these activities have to take
us away from what were doing. He wanted us to create content, and service design. We cannot create content and educate these people. But we do need to show we care [to involve them]” (Field- notes, 06.03.2017)
Some of the designers, with visual design skills, maintained control over design processes by not only procrastinating feedback on sketches but also by highlight- ing there was no time to change the lay out anymore.
[The designers are discussing development of Pensiopoly]. Nadia asked Carrie to shorten
the interview guide “the game will take too long like this”. Carrie responded: “but it is already in the game now. We cannot change the design anymore”. In the days after, Carrie and Jane took out some of the questions, but mostly focused on making the game look good. (Fieldnotes, 16.02.2017)
Differentiating from other occupations
The designers wanted to use Mural again not merely because it offered them valuable content, but because it created energy among the clients and hence helped them to legitimize their own work as separate from that of other consultants.
“[Discussing points in a design team meeting] And the fifth was oh... the Mural. Do you know the Mural expired and if we need
to ask if we can extend the license?... I mean it is not the end of the world if we wait, but they [clients] did all that work [in filling in the Mural] and they loved the tool. Richard said it created a new energy, so it is good to use
it again.” (Fieldnotes, a quote from Nadia, project lead at Fjord, 07.03.2017)
The designers used board games like Pensiopoly during interviews with end-users, signaling to the clients that they use different ma- terial practices than other service workers in their work processes.
“I think they are more creative in the ways in which they approach things. For example, during the interviews they use a blank sheet and let people draw a timeline of their lives. Or, they make a board game to get information. Their approach is more relaxed and creative [than ours]...Because they are so visual and use a tailor-made approach, it is easier to conduct interviews with users.” (Interview, Richard, project lead of client organization)
2. “Pixel Perfect”: Designers as Craftsmen 85
 DESIGNERS’ ATTEMPTS TO RESTORE CONNECTION WITH WORK
  










































































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