Pau Garcia, Founding Partner at Domestic Data Streamers, held this Wednesday the fifth of six Service Design Masterclasses, a special format of the Master in Service Design that aims at investigating cutting-edge topics connected to the world of Service Design.
Garcia's research is based on the areas of new media technology and data languages, and the Masterclass explored the new frontiers of communication and sense-making through data that Domestic Data Streamers is bringing forth with its work. We live in a world where the amount of information that surrounds us requires to assign value to data in ways that are able to overcome the mere liking and sharing that digital medias offer. There is a need to break the flatness of information hierarchies, infuse empathy in design practices and realize that emotions are key when connecting with people. These are the premises for Garcia's work, that advocates for a shift from a customer-centric mindset to a relationship-centric one.
Part of the Masterclass focused on Domestic Data Streamers' projects that have a very strong social, cultural, sometimes political impact, demonstrating how something as data, which is perceived in a quite cold manner, can actually foster change and action. The presented works ranged from exhibition design around themes of social justice and reflection on the role of art and design, to service design for the health care sector, to an intervention at UNICEF aimed at raising awareness on childhoods at risk. It was an inspiring overview of concrete examples where design was used to serve humans and contribute in moving towards better systems and practices.
As designers we have the responsibility, in a globalized world, to create tools that benefit society as a whole.
