A brief dérive in design thinkingI have a first-hand experience of feeling the separation described byDe Bord (2002). After 7 years of practising as a lawyer, I felt Iwas just participating in a spectacle of success measured in billablehours, fancy suits, and real estate. I was so far removed from theproduction of real things that the best way I could describe what Idid everyday to non-lawyers was I argue what words mean to favourbig corporations. I quit the charade, bit the bullet & decided to getback to basics at UTS & learn how to create real things as anintegrated product designer. A bit of détournement. This photo was taken by

my friend Giselle while we were wanderingaround Milsons Point. We abducted the cafe'sadvertisement to create a playful image that wasshared, liked and commented on in Instagram,Facebook & Twitter. Nowadays we not only leavefootprints on the pavement, but also a trail ofbread crumbs of 'big data' in the social networksof cyberspace.

"O body swayed to music,

O brightening glance,

How can we know the

dancer from the dance?"from the poem Among School Children

(Yates 1928)

Kimbell's (2011) critique of the adoption of 'design thinking' bybusiness and social innovators from design practice to de-politicizethe change process reminded me of what my meditation teacher saidabout the bad karma to be had by people who introduced yoga tothe west. Most of them introduced yoga as a benign form ofrelaxation and exercise instead of its true nature as an intensepractice whose ultimate aim is union with the divine. They divorcedyoga from it's very deep roots in mysticism of the Hindu soul andcenturies of spiritual tradition. Something significant was lost.

In a sense, trying to abduct 'design thinking' away from it'sparticular place, time, context and culture of practice is the verysame 'commoditization' so criticized by Debord and the Situationists.Design thinking is not something you can buy and pick-up listeningto a 15 minute TED talk. It is a lived practice. Even as client ofa design consultant, one cannot simply consume design thinking. Theutility comes out of a continuous dialogue between the user anddesigner. Design is not like a complete immutable ten commandmentshanded down from God at Mt Sinai. Rather it is more analogous toa lean startup (Ries 2011) where success comes from validatedlearning through continuous feedback from customers.

However as pointed out by Heskett (2002, p.47): although onone end of the spectrum of design knowledge, there are highlysubjective processes based on individual insight and experience(tacit knowledge), it need not be limited to this. There is avital need to develop design knowledge that can be structuredand communicated (coded knowledge). To me, this isepitomised by dance. There could be recorded choreographybut it must be danced at a particular place and time.

A brief dérive in design thinking

In A Very Dangerous Q&A (QandA 2011) I askedSlavoj Žižek: "If the selfish & blind pursuit ofgenes to propagate is what drove single cells toevolve into complex life forms, which includes us -Can we say that the blind pursuit of profit is whatdrives civilization forward, and we should not stop itjust because we don't like what we see now, becausethe future cannot be fully imagined by someone on alower level of evolution?"

He replied: "capitalism is implicitly in a perverted way religiously ethical. Capital must circulate even if we all dropdead and so on. You have a metaphysical entity which has priority over our most immediate utilitarian concern. So forme what we need against capitalist greed is not some Christian morality but good old fashioned utilitarian egotism."Žižek's reply is an answer to thesis 20 of Debord (2002): "Spectacular technology has not dispersed the religious mistsinto which human beings had projected their own alienated powers, it has merely brought those mists down to earth, tothe point that even the most mundane aspects of life have become impenetrable and unbreathable."Franzen (2011) takes this point home in his critique of techno-consumerism as troubled by real love so it troubles lovein return. To him consumer technology products are great enablers of narcissism and the commodification of love. Andthe anti-dote is the messy, 'warts and all', love of a particular person or being at a particular point in time.

A common thread running here are the artificialdivisions which need to be questioned by a'awakened' designer. None can be more obviousthan the illusory polarity between political parties.In Big Ideas and Big Society (QandA 2012) Iasked Philip Blond: "Has Australian politicsfallen in the fatal trap of individualistic socialliberalism on the left and individualistic economicliberalism on the right, to the detriment ofsociety at large? And does the way out of thistrap lie in the new politics of group formation, abig society, a red Tory future of progressiveconservatism?"

Incidentally, Q&A the television program would be an example of the multi-faceted and fluid nature of site specificityin the complex world today as discussed by Kwon (1997). The program happens live at a particular place usually atthe ABC studios in Ultimo Sydney (occassionally in other states or in special events like the Festival of Dangerous Ideasat the Opera House). Yet it is broadcast live around Australia. The show is shaped by the questions submitted by thelive audience or via video based on the subject matter expertise of the episode's panel. Thus looping back to Kimball(2011). Here the Q&A producer and Tony Jones as designer of the show don't have full control of each Q&Aepisode. It is shared with the dynamics of the guest panel and live audience. After TV broadcast the show is madeavailable on-line. The episode then takes on the life of a nomad in place and time where it could be viewed anddiscussed around the globe.

A brief dérive in design thinking

The history of design,however, can bedescribed moreappropriately as aprocess of layering, inwhich new developmentsare added over time towhat already exists. Thislayering, moreover, isnot just a process ofaccumulation oraggregation, but adynamic interaction inwhich each newinnovative stage changesthe role, significance,and function of whatsurvives.(Heskett 2005,p. 6--7)

Night Walks

A glance towards left,right, before taking the first stepwhen the man is standingand flashing red.Her dimly lit figurestands alone by the footbridge.Horse hooves are poundingthe cobbled pavement.Autumn leaves are cracklingwith the wind's gentlest breath.Ever so slowly she turns her head.It starts to rain.I am left walking alone,as the jumbo jet lights flashing like a giant star prepares to land in the airport nearby.

I still see her hat,ribbons and lace,her parasol and little bag,and the hint of a smile on her face.Why does it take foreverto reach the car parkon a cold, wet nightwhen silence will not leave me alone?It was on a night like thiswhen I first tasted her sweet breath.That warmth and softness: where skinmeets satin.At last my cabriolet:no coach man; no hooves;no whip; no lamp.I have a key.It will take me to:a warm soup; a hot bath;and another sleepness night.