Systemic design

Systemic design refers to the combination of knowledge from design thinking and systems thinking. This is applied to complex problems that span issues such as equality, sustainability and ethics, i.e. problems that require the understanding of many different parts from both a holistic and individual perspective. These problems often take an organisational or societal perspective. An important aspect is to try to understand the complexities of the world from how they relate to each other, in order to try to understand and mitigate possible effects. Many of the problems addressed using systemic design are so called wicked problems (see ).

Systemic design processes are often collaborative and include many stakeholders, because they address complex problems. They tend to span a longer period of time. 

Systemic design processes often build on design thinking with foci as understanding the context, developing action plans with stakeholders, and iterating and refining over time. Systemic design processes often build on systems thinking with its focus on exploring the context and connections of the problem’s parts, the different perspectives of its actors, and the boundaries that exist within the system under study. Systems thinking is aimed at creating a systematic understanding of complex and messy situations. 

For more information, tools and tips, see the Systemic Design Toolkit https://www.systemicdesigntoolkit.org/