I had the pleasure to participate in the first Designathon of it’s kind in the Kingdom organized by the Saudi Architecture and Design Commission. Hundreds of professional designers from all walks of design gathered under one roof to come up with creative solutions for complex problems related to wellbeing, social impact, and sustainability.
It was such a unique opportunity as a healthcare professional to interact with architects, graphic designers, interior designers and others who practice design for a living and see how can we collaborate to tackle wellbeing problems by addressing the social and environmental determinants of health, beyond clinical care.
It was interesting to notice that some young designers may not necessarily understand or apply the mindset and tools of design thinking, and only consider design as the step of sketching or drawing solutions, rather than the whole process. So, they have a lot to learn in order to think like a design thinker, paradoxical but true!
This Designathon and similar platforms would help bridge this gap between the narrow definition of design, and the broader mindset and approach, with the added value of bringing real solutions to real life problems.
It would be great to create healthcare marathons of design were healthcare professionals and seasoned designers sit on the same table to collaborate and address the complex global problems of healthcare delivery.
