Good design is imagination and inspiration
In my recent talk at UX Scotland, I explored the theme of how good design shapes how people see the world.
An important part of my thinking has always been that design needs ideas, big ideas that come from ambition and creativity.
It’s okay that design demands a point of view because the world needs more imagination, inspiration and reinvention to make progress.
Sometimes we can call these moments sticks in the ground. The bets we make on people, places, and what could be made possible.
The world we want to exist made real
The importance of imagination and inspiration is about experience. There are two examples that I think help to illustrate this point. The first is an experiment I first saw in Spain, with more recent examples in the UK…
Bike buses are a safe and healthy way for children to get to school with other cyclists. They’re organised as a group activity with adult leaders, and often with roads being temporarily shut or with traffic measures in place, including police escorts.
Barcelona’s bike bus, or ‘bicibus,’ is a great example of this idea made real – you can watch a film of this on YouTube. It’s something to behold seeing hundreds of young cyclists taking over the city’s road system on their way to school.
I love this idea. Where I live there are so many barriers to children cycling more, mostly related to safety. It’s an idea that’s tied into local infrastructure and systems. Something that you also have to experience to appreciate the human and community connections being created. Without seeing this idea made real, it’s hard to imagine safe cycling for young children is even possible in a big city like Barcelona.
Back in the UK, there are also examples like this. In 2024, Noss Primary School in Wick, Scotland joined forces with Cycling UK to launch their own weekly ‘bike train’. In an article about the Noss scheme I particularly loved this quote:
“…[it’s] just magical. I joined it today, with 136 cyclists along the way – a phenomenal way to start your school day.”
This is the type of inspiration through experience that leads to ideas growing, that gets people excited and makes change possible.
My next example is something that might be more familiar. Parkrun was founded in 2004 in London as a single local event. It has since grown into a network of events and has expanded into other countries. In the UK, it’s estimated that 200,000 people participate in Parkrun events each week.
Parkrun is something that brings joy to many local communities. Joy is central to how we all experience design. It’s important how things feel, as well as what they are or how they work more practically or functionally.
The most important point here is that Parkrun started with an idea. It was a small, local idea. The internet and technology made it possible to scale. But it’s a great example of something that builds social and community value, leading to benefits like improved health outcomes. That starts with both imagination and inspiration.
In both of these examples, people have experienced something new. They are a shift in social norms and expectations. Whether that’s how we think about children getting to school safely, or how to create stronger, healthier communities.
This is one of the superpowers of design: making ideas real. All ideas like this have to start somewhere to grow and gain momentum.
The importance of provocation
Imagination and inspiration is also about provocation. There’s another example that I like and have used that relates to this. It’s taken from the excellent Rob Hopkins book, From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want.
This picture is an example of Extinction Rebellion taking over and transforming public spaces as part of climate protests. It’s from a protest that shut down Waterloo Bridge to traffic – described as a garden project. It’s an example of bringing future versions of the world into reality. What was most interesting to me is that these climate demonstrations included some kind of manifestation of the future they were trying to create, showing and helping others experience a future they are campaigning for.
As Rob Hopkins explains:
“How would it be if each of those demonstrations, actions, strikes, always included some kind of manifestation of the future they want to see? Gardens, visual projections onto buildings, art installations, discussions, theatre, that show what they dream of, and want the world to be? Or perhaps overnight actions to transform a place? To bring into the present what the future could still be like, to add the provocation of awe to their ambitions.”
In this example, protesters created a skate park, and spaces to sit and rest surrounded by trees and plants. They still allowed space for cyclists. All of this was a complete contrast to the heavy traffic that usually runs over the bridge in central London.
This type of protest is actually a prototype. It is a vision of a different future, but one that starts to feel more real once you experience it.
The world needs good design more than ever
This is all part of how design is care. It demands a point of view about how the world could and should be. It asks questions and it makes progress possible by showing people. Making space for both experience, connection and joy in how that happens. And by letting others interact with and shape that future.
However, we increasingly seem to be stuck when it come to imagination and inspiration. All the while our most powerful AI is being trained on fragments of our past – as the documentary maker Adam Curtis describes: feeding itself back to us.
As I’ve also heard Rob Hopkins say: “we cannot build what we cannot imagine.” Let’s continue to bring the hope and inspiration that’s needed.
This is my blog where I’ve been writing for 20 years. You can follow all of my posts by subscribing to this RSS feed. You can also find me on Bluesky and LinkedIn.