2024: Design Beyond: Systems, Organizations, and Culture

Join us for a one-day deep dive into systems thinking and organization design. Learn how leading design professionals and researchers approach complex challenges by understanding the interconnectedness of systems.

• Panel Discussion: Hear professional designers and researchers discuss their real-world experiences integrating systems thinking into their projects.
• Keynote Address: Renowned design theorist Richard Buchanan will illuminate the power of organization design as a strategic tool for driving effective change.
• Network: Virtually mingle with fellow design enthusiasts and gain insights from experienced professionals.

This event is your chance to expand your design toolkit and gain a holistic perspective on tackling tomorrow’s challenges. We encourage our traditional design partners and anyone interested in the future of design to attend this transdisciplinary event, including graduate students, faculty, design practitioners, and business professionals.

Event Recording

Friday, August 16, 2024
9:00 am – 2:00 pm via Zoom

Preliminary schedule of events:

• 9:00 am-9:20 am: Introduction and opening remarks with M. Elen Deming, Director of the Doctor of Design program
• 9:20 am-9:50 am: Audience / Mural Introductions and Design Trivia Ice Breaker
• 10:00 am-10:30 am: Intro to Systems Thinking with Dr. Pierce Otlhogile-Gordon
• 10:30 am-11:30 am: Panel: Systems Thinking in Theory and Practice 
• Break (30 minutes)
• 12:00 pm-1:15 pm: Keynote address and Q&A with Dr. Richard Buchanan 
• 1:15 pm-1:30 pm: Closing remarks from Dr. Newton D’souza, our new Director of Doctoral Programs
• 1:30 pm: Facilitated Networking (Optional)

Three Doctor of Design students (Meghan Bausone, Melissa Eggleston, and Lexi Namer) have developed an outstanding symposium for this year, packed with guest presenters that will share real-world experiences integrating systems thinking into their projects. 

Introduction and Panel: Systems Thinking in Theory and Practice

Dr. Pierce Otlhogile-Gordon will first present an Introduction to Systems Thinking before delving deeper into the topic of Systems Thinking in Theory and Practice with a panel of experts.  Panelists include:

• Dr. Andrés Téllez
• Bess Williamson
• Boon Yew Chew
• Dr. Dimeji Onafuwa
• SL Rao
• Dr. Pierce Otlhogile-Gordon

Keynote Presentation with Dr. Richard Buchanan:

Following the panel, our keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Richard Buchanan.  Dr. Buchanan will delve into the heart of his seminal work on the four orders of design. With a particular focus on the fourth order – organizational design – he will explore how design can shape complex environments and cultures. Discover how culture and design intertwine, influencing how organizations process information and make decisions. Learn about the essential role of design in crafting successful organizations and the power of strategic conversations to drive transformation.

Guest speakers:

Dr. Pierce Otlhogile-Gordon works across discipline, industry, and geographical borders,  helping changemakers support their professional and personal goals of system change. He’s guided changemakers at community and national scopes across multiple continents, in the for-profit, academic, philanthropic, and non-profit sectors. Across his vast and eclectic professional journey, his work shares one principle: to orchestrate the spread of agency and creativity across the world. He holds a M.S. and Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, and summa cum laude B.S. degrees from the University of Michigan and Morehouse College.

Dr. Andrés Téllez is a designer, researcher, and educator who firmly believes in the power of design to improve people’s lives, build a more open and democratic society, and responsibly create value for organizations. He holds a Ph.D. in Design from North Carolina State University, a Master’s in Education (M.Ed) from Universidad de los Andes (Bogota, Colombia), and a Bachelor’s in Industrial Design (BID) from the same university. Dr. Téllez is joining NC State from Appalachian State University, where he served as an Assistant Professor and Design Foundations Coordinator in the Department of Applied Design. Before joining App State, heserved as an Associate Professor and Department Head at the Department of Product Design at Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogota, Colombia.

Bess Williamson is a historian of design and material culture with a particular interest in social and political concerns in design, including environmental, labor, justice, and rights issues as they shape and are shaped by spaces and things. She is the author of Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design, which traces the history of design responses to disability rights from 1945 to recent times. She joins NC State from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she served as a Professor of Art History, Theory, and Criticism, teaching a range of design history courses, from introductory surveys of modern design history to graduate seminars on issues in design and politics, material culture/”thing” theories, and disability studies in art/design.

Boon Yew Chew is a strategic designer working in large enterprise products, services and organizational change work, where he draws on his interests in systems thinking and complexity science. He is a local leader with the Interaction Design Association’s London chapter and formerly served on IxDA’s global board.

Dr. Dimeji Onafuwa has been in design management, design strategy, design research, design-thinking, brand communications, service design consulting and design practice for over 15 years. Dr. Onafuwa is a founding member of Common Cause Collective, an impact-focused design collective working toward measurable, sustainable futures for organizations and society and currently manages a team of UX researchers for a Fortune 100 tech company. He earned a BA with honors (summa cum laude) in Advertising/Design & Studio Art from Concord University, MBA in Management from UNC Charlotte, and a Ph.D. in Design from Carnegie Mellon University.

Shree Lakshmi Rao (SL) is a strategist who co-creates new futures in education, health and climate through design inspired system transformation. They bring a system-oriented, equity-centered approach to my work and to how they build, nurture and grow teams and organizations. They are curious and driven by the need to find solutions to seemingly intractable problems. They work as VP of Design Research and Strategy for Optimistic Design and hold a MDes in Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon University.