Blueprint for Design

How successful is our economy for the people? How would this be measured and what would policies look like if this question were asked whenever a policy is being drafted and debated? Moreover, what does this have to do with design anyway?

In my last blog I shared my experience volunteering at Green Fest Seattle 2010. Today I want to share some thoughts on how we decide what metric we use for success in design by also looking at the Gross National Happiness. Economics and Design are similar fields in that they are both driven by data, but their results are more subjective. The economy was considered “good” in 2005 & 2006, but “good” for whom? One can design a building to meet the stated client program and the building code, and get it built according to budget, is it a good building design? How are we measuring and informing our decisions?

First a little about the notion of Gross National Happiness: In 1972, the new 16-year-old king of Bhutan in his coronation speech said Gross National Happiness would be a better indicator of a government’s success than GNP – Gross National Product. Now, Bhutan took the king at his word and the ministers created a Department of Gross National Happiness. Their duty is several fold; First they poll the populace every 2 years and collect a happiness census. It covers many areas of life, economics, environment, health and other indicators. Second, they develop a guide for the ministers and legislature to ask questions about policy decisions – how their decisions will likely affect the GNH, up or down.

At Green Festival they had Karma Tshiteem, Secretary of the Gross National Happiness Department as a guest speaker. Mr. Tshiteem explained how Bhutan’s department developed over time. It is really a very sophisticated polling and opinion collection service. So even though Bhutan suffers from extremely dire poverty, they are overwhelmingly (75%) happy. How would Americans consider their happiness – now in this rotting economy, or even back in the roaring ‘90’s?

Bhutan is not trying to spin poll numbers or garner political points. The system of GNH is as essential to Bhutanese policy as our census, our jobs report or other economic indicators are to congress.  The guidelines they have developed effected how Bhutan decided not to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). They had a 19 to 5 vote without the guidelines (join vs. decline) – just looking at economic indicators.(Loans, assistance programs, education, and restructuring to WTO standards) Then they asked the legislature to reconsider the WTO proposal using the previous facts, but now viewed through the effects it would have on the GNH. The final revote was unanimous rejection of the WTO.

Therefore, in design if we understand what metrics we are consciously and unconsciously using to make decisions we can guide our process, instead of measure at the end.  Along with the client programming and the due diligence of the building codes, a set of design goals that the team agrees will lead to a good design should also be created. Having a goal statement that the team uses individually and in the group can help guide decisions. Firms may already have a document for checking drawings and graphic standards, adding a design goal statement breathes life into the correct articulation of codes and standards. To goal is to have a built in framework that informs as you design, not wait until the end of the project and decide did we follow our initial ideas or did it get away from us?

Thumbnail by optikal