The Google Design Lectures: Charlotte Jarvis and J. Paul Neeley

The Google Design Lectures are a new event in the London Design Festival’s calendar, challenging design thinkers and practitioners to experiment with new ideas and products with the active participation of a live audience to challenge conventional wisdoms and explore new products and concepts. The lectures are supported by Google.

Design Interactions present Nudge Nudge with Charlotte Jarvis and J. Paul Neeley
Two experiments in changing behaviour. Can design change how we behave? We tend to think about design as something that is there to shape the physical world, but design can also alter the less tangible aspects of our lives. Through demonstration and experiment two designers hope to show how we can be persuaded to behave differently, but is this nudge or manipulation?  

The Future is Not a Noun; It's a Verb by Charlotte Jarvis
Psychological experiment, performance, social intervention and comic turn. In an attempt to design an experience that demonstrates the social rules that govern our lives and the mechanisms that dictate the way we behave The Future is Not a Noun; It's a Verb presents a challenge, a predetermined performance and a piece of entertainment. By bringing together a team of scientists, performers and designers we will be shown for the tragicomic performers we all are and, hopefully, in the process learn a little bit about why we behave the way we do. The lecture features a special appearance by renowned psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman.  

Designing for Happiness in a Complex World by J. Paul Neeley
Current design and business approaches work to identify and isolate problems and then solve for them, but these methods fail to engage with the complex realities of our interconnected world where nothing exists in isolation. As more and more designers find themselves addressing larger and more complex problems, the failure of our current methods become more and more acute. Happiness is one such space, where many designers, businesses, governments, and other organizations have seen opportunities, but with its complex social, cultural financial, health, environmental, and other factors at play have yet to find solutions. Is it possible to design for happiness?

Note: if you have a phobia of clowns, Charlotte Jarvis's lecture may not be suitable for you.