In the past 15 years, while designers were learning how to create products, services and interactions that guarantee a return on investment, the world of businesses was changing. Economic return is not the only measurement now for value-driven businesses, many start-ups, social enterprises, community-based organisations, NGOs and even for corporations. This upcoming economic model is focused on the impact that new products and service have on societies and economies. We, as designers, are not fully ready to plan and assess what impact our work will have on the users and customers we aim to engage. In this session, I’ll present an approach that goes beyond user-centred design and activity-centred design: impact-driven design. I will introduce some examples taken from my involvement in the creation of start-ups in different African countries, and I will introduce a series of tools and practices that would help Interaction Designers go beyond their remit of creating useful, usable and engaging experience, and create impactful services.
