Communities are at the core of the human experience and our design practice, yet we don’t always put the same level of active effort in designing our communities as we do in designing the products and services we make. We live and work embedded in networks of other people and systems. Communities are defined by shared norms and culture, and have a massive impact on how we live, think and act. Why leave this up to chance? We are all stewards of the many communities we engage in every day, and we need to take an active role in mindfully crafting these communities. So, how do we craft better communities? What does better even mean? This talk is a reflection on my experiences building and crafting communities at a variety of scales from the personal to the global. I will discuss my successes and failures, my fears and delights, as well as lessons learned along the way. We are nothing without the communities we inhabit, so let’s make them great together. video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyNoVk7J5uI

1. DESIGNING OUR COMMUNITIES
A FEW THINGS I’VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY
Erik Dahl eadahl@gmail.com @eadahl #isa14

2. @eadahl
ERIK DAHL
Researcher & Design Consultant
eadahl@gmail.com
@eadahl
MWUX
conference
www.uxaxioms.com
Hello!

3. LET’S LEAVE OUR EVERYDAY REALITY

4. LET’S TAKE A STEP BACK, AND
REFLECT

5. Activity
Close your eyes
Activity ACTIVITY
CLOSE YOUR EYES
…think of a time in your life when you were happiest.

6. PITTSBURGH
Story of getting laid
off.

7. COLUMBUS

8. S0, WHAT IS COMMUNITY?

10. COMMUNITY

11. A COMMUNITY IS A SOCIAL UNIT
OF ANY SIZE THAT SHARES
COMMON VALUES.

12. COMMUNITIES ARE THE SOCIAL
INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTING AND
ENABLING HUMAN ACTION.

13. A FEW WORDS ABOUT CULTURE

14. WE MAKE CULTURE, BUT CULTURE
MAKES US WHO WE ARE.

15. CULTURE IS:
BEHAVIOR - WHAT PEOPLE DO
KNOWLEDGE - WHAT PEOPLE KNOW
ARTIFACTS - THINGS PEOPLE MAKE AND USE
JAMES SPRADLEY

16. CULTURE IS SIMPLY WHAT GIVES MEANING TO
ACTIONS, WHICH IT DOES BY PROVIDING A SENSE OF
COHERENCE OR PATTERNING AND PREDICTABILITY. IT
PROVIDES THE LENS THROUGH WHICH ONE INTERPRETS
EVENTS, SCENES, AND ACTIONS.
ROBERT GORDON

17. THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE…MAN IS AN ANIMAL
SUSPENDED IN WEBS OF SIGNIFICANCE HE HIMSELF
HAS SPUN, I TAKE CULTURE TO BE THOSE WEBS, AND
THE ANALYSIS OF IT TO BE THEREFORE NOT AN
EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE IN SEARCH OF LAW BUT AN
INTERPRETIVE ONE IN SEARCH OF MEANING.
CLIFFORD GEERTZ

18. CULTURE IS A SYSTEM OF SHARED MEANINGS THAT IS
BASED ON A SIGNIFYING ORDER, A COMPLEX SYSTEM
OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SIGNS THAT COHERE IN
PREDICTABLE WAYS INTO PATTERNS OF
REPRESENTATION WHICH INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS
CAN UTILIZE TO MAKE OR EXCHANGE MESSAGES.
MARCEL DANESI

19. CULTURE IS INTERPRETIVE, AND GENERATIVE…
CULTURE IS NOT TAXONOMIC.
OUR COMMUNITIES ARE SITES OF CULTURAL PRODUCTION.

20. CULTURE INFLUENCES COGNITION…
BOTH WHAT WE THINK AND WHAT
WE DO.
http://www2.psych.Joe Henrich ubc.ca/~henrich/books.html

21. A FEW WORDS ABOUT PROBLEM
FINDING AS APPLIED TO COMMUNITIES.

24. PROBLEM
SOLVERS
PROBLEM
FINDERS
HOW DO I DO
GOOD WORK?
WHAT IS
GOOD WORK?

25. AS STEWARDS OF OUR COMMUNITIES,
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?

26. HOW DO WE CRAFT GOOD COMMUNITIES?
WHAT IS A GOOD COMMUNITY?

27. ACTIVITY
WHY DO YOU…
…join or not? …stay in or leave? …lead or not?

28. SIX THEMES ABOUT COMMUNITIES
1. passive → active
2. be a facilitator
3. events → community
4. relationships and networks
5. emergence
6. soft work is hard

29. 1. PASSIVE → ACTIVE

30. “WE TEND TO SIT BACK AND ALLOW
THE HEROIC INNOVATIONS OF OTHERS
TO JUSTIFY OUR OWN CREATIVE
PASSIVITY.”
MICHAEL DILA
A NECESSARY DISCOURSE ON THE UNFINISHED DESIGN
http://www.businessinnovationfactory.com/summit/story/necessary-discourse-unfinished-design

31. 14 IND
MWUX

32. [ images of
bayardstown ]

33. CREATE YOUR OWN PATH AND
MAKE THE WORLD YOU WANT
TO LIVE IN!

34. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A FUTURE VISION

35. ACTIVITY
WHAT IS YOUR FUTURE VISION?

36. VISUALIZE OUR FUTURE IDENTITIES
Effort before Identity → Identity before Effort

37. 2. COMMUNITIES NEED FACILITATORS,
NOT JUST LEADERS.

38. BE A FACILITATOR, SPACE MAKER,
PATH CLEARER, FRICTION REDUCER,
AND AN ENABLER

39. SELL YOUR EXPERTISE AND YOU HAVE
A LIMITED REPERTOIRE. SELL YOUR
IGNORANCE AND YOU HAVE AN
UNLIMITED REPERTOIRE.
RSW on Charles Eames

40. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN EXPERT.
BE AN EXPERIMENTER.

41. 3. EVENTS → COMMUNITY

42. FIND YOUR TRIBE

43. FIND YOUR TRIBE … KEEP IT GOING

45. 4. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND
NETWORKS

46. THE NETWORK IS THE POWER,
NOT THE NODE.
Why Twitter Should Not Algorithmically Curate the Timeline https://medium.com/message/the-algorithm-giveth-but-it-also-taketh-b7efad92bc1f

47. “COMMUNITIES ARE MORE THAN THE
SUM OF THEIR INSTITUTIONS AND
INFRASTRUCTURES — THEY’RE THE SUM
OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS.”
http://GIVE & TAKE PROJECT www.givetakeproject.com/

48. CREATE SPACES FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO
CONNECT AND GROW.

49. FOSTER OPENNESS, PARTICIPATION,
CONNECTION, AND OPPORTUNITIES
FOR OTHERS.

50. PUT OTHER PEOPLE FIRST, BE HUMBLE,
AND BE CURIOUS.

51. 5. EMERGENCE

52. NAKED STREETS
A Hans Monderman-designed streetscape in Drachten, Holland without traffic lights, road signs and lane markers. Photo by Jerry Michalski.

53. NAKED STREETS
emergence
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3037471/on-a-new-shared-street-in-chicago-there-are-no-sidewalks-no-lights-and-no-signs?utm_source=facebook

54. MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE.

55. 6. THIS COMMUNITY STUFF TAKES TIME.
THERE’S NO QUICK FIX.

56. Amy Jo Kim’s models on cooperative gaming
http://amyjokim.com/

57. NOT MY MODEL - From Amy Jo Kim’s work on cooperative game design. http://amyjokim.com/

58. Newbie
Regular
Enthusiast
Onboarding
Habit-­‐Building
Mastery
NOT MY MODEL - From Amy Jo Kim’s work on cooperative game design. http://amyjokim.com/

59. PLAYER STAGES NEEDS
Enthusiast
Mastery
Regular
Habit-­‐Building
Newbie
Onboarding
Elder
Leader
Regular
Novice
Visitor
Exclusivity
Recognition
Impact
Fresh Content
Activities
Challenges
Goals
Purpose
Progress
NOT MY MODEL - From Amy Jo Kim’s work on cooperative game design.

60. SIX GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR
DESIGNING OUR COMMUNITIES
1. Take an “active” role
2. Be a facilitator for other’s success
3. Drive beyond events to community
4. Focus on relationships and networks
5. Allow and support emergence
6. Soft work is hard

61. WHAT YOU GIVE IS WHAT YOU GET,
SO GIVE MORE THAN YOU TAKE.

62. THANK YOU!
Erik Dahl eadahl@gmail.com @eadahl #isa14

63. No deje de completar su evaluación online
isa.ixda.org/encuesta
¡Muchas gracias!
Designing Our Communities
Interaction14 South America
B U E N O S A I R E S
Erik Dahl