Design doesn't automatically translate from one thing to another. The process of inquiry, discovery, sensemaking, prototyping and testing applies broadly, but if done, the results can show wide variation. It's incomplete #design #strategicdesign

Stanford Social Innovation Review@ssir.org · 2w ago

"Imported platforms don’t fail in emerging markets because of bad translation. They fail because they were never designed for these places to begin with. The ones that work are built from the ground up by founders who confront the same constraints they’re designing for."

“Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.” Wendell Berry, Citizenship Papers: Essays

“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.” Wendell Berry, Book testimonial for Charles E. Little’s “The Dying of the Trees”

This case study on how Nintendo's leaders took voluntary pay cuts to show their commitment to the cause is an example of where values and leadership come together to support innovation. People will follow leaders who lead by example. #leadership gapingvoid.substack.com/p/if-theres-...

If There’s A Wii, There’s A Way

Remember the Nintendo Wii?

gapingvoid.substack.com

Design requires behaviour change -- because that's what converts someone to use our new thing. If we wish to change health conditions, we need to think like designers and psychologists. Here's a short introduction: designloft.substack.com #change #strategicdesign

Are you planning for your fall and the convening (or reconvening) of your research or practice network after the summer? The welcome, connection, and curation space for new and old member is a vital part of this process. Be the networking host people want. Need help? www.cense.ca

We always need to think and rethink about what we do and that includes design thinking. A rethink of what we mean by it and what it is intended to do has been in the works for a while. What are the ethical questions we need to consider in this effort? #designthinking censemaking.com/2020/08/17/r...

Rethink Design Thinking Censemaking

Design thinking needs rethinking about ethics, tools, and models.

censemaking.com

Artificial Intelligence and Creative Human Capacity Generative AI allows us to create content, but it doesn't allow us to become something more. A look at how design and human creation transform us and how AI… https://censemaking.com/2026/08/14/artificial-intelligence-and-creative-human-capacity/

Artificial Intelligence and Creative Human Capacity

Generative AI allows us to create content, but it doesn't allow us to become something more. A look at how design and human creation transform us and how AI is taking that from us if we let it.

censemaking.com

Design and evaluation are natural partners, even if that's not obvious to designers or evaluators. I've offered an introduction to evaluation for designing and suggested why they need each other #design #evaluation #strategicdesign

Complexity and Layered Systems Travelling offers up some of the clearest examples of how complexity, connection, and coordination…... https://censemaking.com/2026/08/11/complexity-and-layered-systems/

Complexity and Layered Systems

Travelling offers up some of the clearest examples of how complexity, connection, and coordination intersect. Consider how many relationships, represented in networks, embodied practices, and individual nodes (people, transactions, units) are involved in a flight from one place to another. It's an amazing feat when you think of how often things go relatively smoothly and straightforward, despite the many things that are going on and can happen. What I love about using the travel example is that it represents one of the most difficult aspects of complexity and systems, which is the fact that many complex systems have within them elements of simplicity, complicated arrangements, and chaos alongside those that are complex.

censemaking.com

Design thinking isn't a single thing, but rather a means of considering different things through a design lens www.cense.ca/models-of-de... #designthinking

Models of Design Thinking

Design Thinking Mode Design Thinking is the process we use to conceive our products and guide the process of design. This is the design journey. The benefits of engaging with design thinking go bey…

cense.ca

The Death and Life of Professional Online Communities When the online mechanisms for fostering professional networking fail, what do we do? Could the lowly email newsletter be the key to building the trust… https://censemaking.com/2026/07/22/the-death-and-life-of-professional-online-communities/

The Death and Life of Professional Online Communities

When the online mechanisms for fostering professional networking fail, what do we do? Could the lowly email newsletter be the key to building the trust needed to network well and maintain what was once lost from the platforms who no longer serve our needs.

censemaking.com

The metaphor of the knot and the entanglements of complexity in living systems #complexity #systemsthinking censemaking.com/2021/04/08/e...

Entangled Knots and Complexity Censemaking

The idea of entanglements is central to understanding complexity in systems and the knots that they generate The idea of entanglements and systems is at the heart of our understanding of complexity…

censemaking.com

Designing for Seasons What if we designed for seasons, not static systems? A living systems approach to creating better services and systems means designing like gardeners, not engineers. The implications for health systems is enormous.... https://censemaking.com/2026/07/09/designing-for-seasons/

Designing for Seasons

What if we designed for seasons, not static systems? A living systems approach to creating better services and systems means designing like gardeners, not engineers. The implications for health systems is enormous.

censemaking.com

If you're looking to start designing -- turning any of your ideas into something real -- we suggest starting off with these two questions about what and who you're designing for. You might be surprised where it leads www.cense.ca/two-question... #strategicdesign #designthinking #designforhealth

Two Key Questions to Enhance Your Design Process

Explore the power of two critical questions in design to improve products and services effectively. Discover more in our article!

cense.ca

Design is a participation sport. If you're creating things and innovating within the health sector -- meaning, you're looking to create change -- you need to get involved. Passive approaches don't work. No theoretical designers. #designforhealth #innovation #creativity

Design is about putting form to your ideas. Innovation is about taking an novel idea and putting it into practice. Design is the discipline of innovation. Innovation is what brings change to what we do -- improvements, ideas, and transformation. And it's hopeful, too! #strategicdesign

Most arguments fail because both people are trying to win 🤔 Julia Minson says better disagreement starts with curiosity, not certainty. Her new episode on Remarkable People is packed with practical communication advice 🎧 guykawasaki.com/the-...

The upcoming series on design fundamentals for health is the profile of the latest issue of The Design Loft (no paywall) designloft.substack.com/p/summer-ser... #designforhealth #complexity #healthdesign

Summer Series: Design for Health in the Age of Complexity

Learn the fundamentals over lunch

designloft.substack.com

The SWOT analysis is both a great and terrible strategy tool. Knowing when and how to use (and when to pass) is the secret to unlocking the best and avoiding the worst this approach offers www.cense.ca/swot-analysi... #SWOT #strategy #strategicdesign

Understanding SWOT Analysis: History, Uses, and Criticisms

Explore the SWOT analysis tool: its history, applications, strengths, and criticisms in strategic design. Unlock your team's potential today!

cense.ca

Foundations of Evaluation for Planetary Health: Tout juste publié et accessible gratuitement! Nouveau livre! buff.ly/Mxifshc #SCE #evaluation

If you’re looking to deal with classroom complexity, you’ll need to know how to design for it, rather than hope it goes away. Here’s what might need consideration: censemaking.com/2026/05/07/d... #complexity #classrooms #education #strategicdesign

Designing for Classroom Complexity: Strategies for Success

Explore how strategic design can address classroom complexity and transform educational practices for better learning outcomes.

censemaking.com

Writing

Weird

Looking at the evolving nature of writing in the age of AI, highlighting concerns over diminishing human creativity and independent authorship. Through examples from various writers, I illustrate how AI's influence compromises the authenticity of content creation. Ultimately, the piece emphasizes the importance of preserving personal expression in creative endeavors.

censemaking.com

Designing for health begins with two key questions. Here's looking at Who? and why that question yields more than just information about users. #designforhealth #strategicdesign

Design is enormously powerful when done well. The way to know it’s done well? Evaluate! Here’s how⬇️ #evaluation #design #designthinking

Cameron Norman@cdnorman.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Evaluating design thinking: some tips, ideas and approaches censemaking.com/2023/05/15/h...

June is National Indigenous History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the histories, cultures, knowledge systems, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.

Strategic design and evaluation. Our last summer series looked at how to connect systems, evaluation and design together. This post shows the role of evaluation and feedback censemaking.com/2025/07/24/d... #design #evaluation #innovation

Harnessing Design-Driven Evaluation for Effective Change

Explore how design-driven evaluation empowers intentional change in complex systems, enhancing learning and impact within diverse fields.

censemaking.com

The High Diving Board Problem (Why Change is Hard) . Summertime is here, the metaphor is as apt as it's ever been medium.com/p/the-high-d... #change #psychology

The High Diving Board Problem (Why Change is Hard)

Change involves navigating our expectations and perceptions then taking action. It might also involve getting pushed from those behind you.

medium.com

The Cense Summer Series is back. Learn the fundamentals of design for health (in the age of complexity) in this lunchtime summer series geared to busy health leaders. Find out more: www.cense.ca/summerseries... #designforhealth #complexity #healthcare

Join the 2026 Cense Summer Series: Designing for Health

Join the 2026 Cense Summer Series to explore design fundamentals for health. Enhance your skills and innovate in health care with us!

cense.ca

Health-serving professional associations face unique challenges in strategic planning. We recommend using a progressive approach: small data-gathering and consultations over time, connected—instead of big planning retreats. This fits leaders' schedules, has more learning + better plans www.cense.ca

Cense Ltd.

Discover how Cense leverages strategic design to drive health innovation and create impactful solutions for organizations. Book a free consultation today!

cense.ca