Unlocking The Power Of Design in Libraries

Design is a practical, self-correcting, problem-solving process. This perhaps explains why many businesses have woken up to ‘design thinking’ as a way to solve intractable, strategic problems. In this keynote address at the Library Assessment Conference award-winning designer, Paul-Jervis Heath, shares his experience of applying design in libraries and focusing library strategy on the genuine needs of users through the design process.

Transcript

1. MODERN HUMAN
   http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
   UNLOCKING THE POWER
   OF DESIGN IN LIBRARIES
   Paul-Jervis Heath: Founding Principal, Modern Human
   

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2. Paul-Jervis Heath
   Principal & Chief Designer
   Modern Human
   MODERN HUMAN
   http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
   

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3. MODERN HUMAN
   http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
   INFORMATION
   What information is provided and
   at what stage
   INTERACTION
   How people use the product
   or service in order to achieve
   their goals
   STRUCTURE
   The structural relationships
   between channels, touchpoints,
   components and features
   CONCEPT
   How the product or service
   delivers the proposition
   PROPOSITION
   The value offered to customers
   from using the product or service DESIGN STRATEGY
   CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
   DETAILED DESIGN
   STYLING
   The visible elements of the
   product or service
   

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4. http://modernhuman.co @modhuman MODERN HUMAN
   

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5. MODERN HUMAN
   http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
   IMMERSE
   INSPIRE
   INVENT
   IMAGINE
   

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6. MODERN HUMAN
   http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
   Design thinking uses elements from
   the designer's toolkit like empathy and
   experimentation to arrive at
   innovative solutions.
   

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7. Synthesis as a problem
   solving strategy
   The Scientists and the Architects
   http://modernhuman.co @modhuman MODERN HUMAN
   

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8. MODERN HUMAN
   http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
   By using design thinking, you make decisions
   based on what future customers really
   need instead of relying only on historical
   data or making risky bets based on instinct
   instead of evidence.
   

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9. MODERN HUMAN
   http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
   

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10. Our chimp brains
    Decision-making, the limbic system
    and the neocortex
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman MODERN HUMAN
    

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11. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    Assess success of
    changes over time
    Implement incremental or
    major changes to what’s
    offered to customers and
    how.
    Information that defines
    very specifically what 

    has happened.
    Information that defines
    patterns & trends in what
    has happened & can
    identify influencing
    factors.
    Explains why something is
    or isn’t happening and
    inspires and directs new
    opportunities.
    Reinvent what is offered
    to customers and how.
    WHAT WHY
    OBSERVE & LISTEN
    FACTS FINDINGS INSIGHTS
    REPORT ACTION STRATEGY
    RESPOND
    MONITOR REACT TRANSFORM
    

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12. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    IMMERSE
    INSPIRE
    INVENT
    IMAGINE
    

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13. Protolib
    Prototyping new types of 

    library space
    MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    

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14. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    41
    PARTICIPANTS
    21 days
    LENGTH OF STUDY
    1,361
    DIARY ENTRIES
    25 Undergraduates
    8 MPhil
    8 PhD
    16,332
    INDIVIDUAL DATA POINTS
    16 Disciplines
    Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic;
    Business (MBA); Computer Science; Economics; Education; Engineering;
    English; Geography; History; Human, Social and Political Sciences; Law;
    Mathematics; Modern and Medieval Languages; Natural Sciences;
    Philosophy.
    16 Colleges
    Churchill, Clare, Corpus Christi, Downing, Fitzwilliam, Hughes Hall,
    King’s, Magdelene, Murray Edwards, Pembroke, Queen’s, Robinson,
    Selwyn, St Catherine’s, Trinity Hall, Wolfson.
    METHODOLOGY:
    Diary study in numbers
    

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15. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    50
    VOLUNTEERS
    317 hrs
    OF OBSERVATIONS
    127
    EXIT INTERVIEWS
    

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16. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    LENGTH
    OF
    STAY
    WELLBEING
    ACTIVITY
    People choose their
    working environment
    based on 3 factors:
    

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17. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    People have an individual hierarchy of working
    activities
    LENGTH OF STAY
    HIGHER INTENSITY
    ENVIRONMENT
    LOWER INTENSITY
    ENVIRONMENT
    Reflection or break
    Tertiary activities
    Secondary activities
    Primary activities
    

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18. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    

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19. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    Sense of wellbeing influences choice of environment
    ULTRA HIGH INTENSITY
    HIGH INTENSITY
    MEDIUM INTENSITY
    LOW INTENSITY
    BREAK
    SENSE OF WELLBEING
    

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20. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    Intended length of stay influences choice of environment
    TYPICAL LENGTH OF STAY
    30-mins to 2-hours
    Low Intensity
    Environment
    Medium
    Intensity
    Environment
    TYPICAL LENGTH OF STAY
    4-hours to 9-hours
    

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21. Codesign workshops 

    with students
    MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    

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22. The Power of Prototyping
    MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    

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23. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    The Power of Prototyping
    Testing out a new reality
    

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24. Original Space
    MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    

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25. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    More chairs does not result in a higher occupancy
    North Reading Room (Prototype 1.0)
    A more regular layout of large rectangular tables. 4 chairs
    to a table.
    North Reading room (original layout)
    Original layout featuring a mixture of café-style circular
    tables and rectangular tables.
    

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26. Medium intensity space
    Prototype 1.2
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman MODERN HUMAN
    

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27. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    OR
    SOCIAL LAYOUT TRAIN LAYOUT
    

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28. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    IDEA
    CONCEPT
    VISION
    

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29. A pattern language
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman MODERN HUMAN
    

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30. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    IDEA
    CONCEPT
    VISION
    

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31. Spacefinder
    Unlocking the abundance of library
    spaces at Cambridge University
    MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    

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32. MODERN HUMAN
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman
    IMMERSE
    INSPIRE
    INVENT
    IMAGINE
    

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33. Futurelib
    A vision for new library services
    based on the needs of students and
    academics
    http://modernhuman.co @modhuman MODERN HUMAN
    

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34. MODERN HUMAN
    Paul-Jervis Heath
    pjh@modernhuman.co
    +44 79 7456 7823
    @pauljervisheath
    

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