Why Design Matters for The Big Flip
/So, why do we need a product designer for a documentary project?
Because real change and improvements start in our everyday lives.
HOW DESIGN SPREAD THE GREEN MOVEMENT BEYOND TREE-HUGGERS TO THE PEOPLE
The evolution of the green movement is an inspiration for what we want to accomplish.
Documentaries like “The Inconvenient Truth” and stories in the press got people to care about the earth and our environment. But life often gets in the way of good intentions. Back when earth-friendly products were hard to find except in a few crunchy-granola stores, it’s not easy for everyday people to live green when we have a job to keep and a family to raise.
Design innovations changed that. Now we have all kinds of Bring-Your-Own-Bag options at the grocery store, from fancy-pants places like Whole Foods to more mainstream ones like Safeway. From hybrid cars to hybrid light bulbs, it’s easier for more people to live green in a way that fits in with our everyday lives.
HELPING MEN AND WOMEN THRIVE IN THE BIG FLIP
That’s why we invited product designer Jessica Gates to join the Big Flip in our mission.
Big Flip families have their hands full. Breadwinner Wives are busy bringing in the bacon despite the rough economy and a slow-to-close gender income gap. Modern Dads are busy raising kids in a society that continues to treat them as anomalies, making the already tough job of full-time parent even tougher (try looking for a diaper-changing table in a men’s room with a crying smelly baby in your arms!).
Changing the conversation with documentaries like the Big Flip is a start. But what if businesses and organizations came up with new services, new products and new work policies designed to make Big Flip families’ lives easier and better? What if…
Jessica is here to dream up innovative possibilities to our “what if” questions.
INSPIRED DESIGN BENEFITS EVERYONE
I love this story Jessica told me about OXO products. You know, the dish brushes and peelers that are so wonderful to use?
They were originally designed for elderly and disabled people. Well, turns out everyone appreciates products that are smartly-designed and easier to use. Now OXO products are found everywhere from Crate & Barrel to Target.
BEYOND BIG FLIP FAMILIES TO ALL WORKING MOMS & DADS
WHY WE’RE DOING THIS
Our ultimate goal for this project is to understand what it takes for men, women and families to thrive—for love and happiness to endure—in the brave new world where wives are breadwinners and husbands take care of home and children.
Design thinking will complement our documentary storytelling to do that.
Go on and see the initial ideas that our test shoot has put in the head of Jessica, inspired product designer and founder of Pushup Consulting.
