Welcome to The Design Loft. In this issue, we explore the concept of systemic design.
This week signals the start of the 14th edition of the global RSD conference. RSD, which began as the Relating Systems Thinking and Design Symposium, has since evolved into a month-long festival of learning centred on sharing insights and research that connects researchers and practitioners interested in the intersection of systems thinking and design.
As the event has evolved and expanded, so has its emphasis on systemic design, including its close association with the Systemic Design Association.
What is Systemic Design?
The SDA describes systemic design as:
systemic design
noun / si-ˈste-mik di-ˈzīn /
: an interdiscipline that joins systems thinking to design methodology
Systemic design is not an approach or a method, but rather a domain of practice and inquiry. It draws on techniques, tools, and strategies from both design and systems thinking.
Systemic design practice seeks to integrate the creativity and human-centred inquiry of design thinking with the holistic, relational understanding of systems thinking to address complex, interdependent challenges. It views problems not as isolated issues to be solved, but as parts of dynamic systems shaped by feedback loops, patterns, and relationships.
Rather than designing singular products or services, systemic design aims to transform the underlying structures, processes, and mental models that sustain systems—often in social, health, environmental, or organizational contexts. Its methods emphasize mapping systems, identifying leverage points, engaging diverse stakeholders, and iteratively prototyping interventions that support learning and adaptation.
Systemic design aims to create the conditions for sustainable change by aligning design actions with systemic insights, enabling more resilient, equitable, and regenerative outcomes in complex human systems.
Applications of Systemic Design
Systemic design is a relatively new field of practice, so the literature base and range of examples are still limited. However, some useful illustrations of its practice have been published. Let’s look at a couple of examples.
One such example is from Alex Ryan and Mark Leung. In Systemic Design: Two Canadian Case Studies, Ryan and Leung (2014) illustrate how integrating systems thinking with design thinking can drive meaningful organizational transformation through two distinct case studies. The cases — the University of Toronto’s procurement redesign and Alberta’s natural resource management reform—show systemic design’s ability to reframe problems, foster empathy, and align diverse stakeholders toward shared goals. The Toronto project reframed procurement from enforcing compliance to enabling research, achieving 99% user retention and $1.5M in savings. The Alberta case built a shared systems view that transformed siloed departments into a collaborative learning system. Together, these cases demonstrate the power of systemic design to bridge theory and practice, combining human-centred insight with a systemic perspective to address complex, adaptive challenges.
In Systemic Design Principles in Social Innovation (2020), Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer and Bridget Malcolm explore how experienced practitioners integrate systems thinking and design to address complex social challenges. Drawing from five international case studies, they identify five core principles of systemic design: (1) acknowledging the interrelatedness of problems, (2) developing empathy with the system, (3) strengthening human relationships to enable creativity and learning, (4) influencing mental models to foster change, and (5) adopting an evolutionary, adaptive approach to systemic transformation. The study reveals that real-world social innovators blend analytical systems perspectives with the human-centred, iterative practices of design—creating adaptive, relationship-based, and learning-oriented approaches to social innovation.
Core Skills of Systemic Design
What does it mean to practice systemic design? What are the skills needed to be a systemic designer? Here is what I teach my students:
Visual Thinking through Maps. Visual thinking is a core part of design practice. By creating ways of seeing systems, including what’s contained within them, the actors, and the interactions, we can begin to design ways to connect, interfere, develop, or create the conditions for change. For that, we need to have the ability to create maps. Maps can employ various conventions, but the essential skill is being able to translate what we see (and experience) into visual models that can be engaged with by multiple stakeholders.
Systems Theories. As psychologist Kurt Lewin said, “there’s nothing so practical as a good theory,” and this is true for systemic design. Understanding the kind of systems we are dealing with in any given situation and how they behave is critical to ensuring our designs are fit for purpose. Resources like the Cynefin Framework, which is a sensemaking device, can be enormously useful in helping practitioners and researchers locate and ‘place’ themselves within a system. Cynefin helps identify the characteristics and behavioural patterns of a system before designing.
Facilitation. Design is often collaborative and co-constructive — and highly recommended, but participation from users is still optional to create something useful. That’s not the case with systemic design. It is, by its very nature, a participatory approach because it seeks to intervene in entire systems. Usually, these systems are social, complex and multi—layered, where there are no central or dominant actors that shape them. To be effective in systemic design practice, you need to know how to facilitate, convene, organize, and work with groups.
Data Synthesis. Because systemic design requires inputs from numerous sources to understand systems, it necessitates a high degree of skill in data gathering, organization, management, and synthesis. This means being able to collect or utilize data from various methods and tools, including secondary sources, and often in complex conditions. Qualitative, quantitative, and interactive data literacy are all needed to inform the development of maps, models and strategies that emerge from systemic design work. Unlike other forms of design, this is one area where research and data skills are essential, not just recommended.
Building Your Practice
Has this introduction inspired you to want to learn more about systemic design? If so, now is the time. The RSD14 conference is currently underway and offers an affordable opportunity to learn more about the work in systemic design from around the world. While some live, in-person sessions are being held at OCAD University in Toronto, there is an abundance of online sessions available.
As part of the Design Loft’s Fall and Winter programs, we’ll be featuring both introductory and advanced training in systemic design methods and approaches. If this is of interest, consider signing up for a paid membership to access all of it. We’re offering an affordable rate as we launch training (basically, two nice coffees per month will buy you a mini university on design. Not bad).
In the meantime, you can explore the resources below to get started on your systemic design practice.
📚 Systemic Design Core References
Books
Jones, P. (Ed.). (2022). Systemic design: Theory, methods, and practice. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55639-8
Jones, P. (2013). Design for care: Innovating healthcare experience. Rosenfeld Media.
Nelson, H. G., & Stolterman, E. (2014). The design way: Intentional change in an unpredictable world (2nd ed.). MIT Press.
Norman, D. A. (2011). Living with complexity. MIT Press.
Thackara, J. (2006). In the bubble: Designing in a complex world. MIT Press.
Capra, F. (2002). The hidden connections: A science for sustainable living. Anchor Books.
Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. Chelsea Green Publishing.
Journal Articles & Papers
Palm, K., Wetter-Edman, K., Hillgren, P.-A., & van der Bijl-Brouwer, M. (2024). Exploring systemic design practices in the public sector: An emerging landscape. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 10(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2023.11.004
Ryan, A. (2014). A framework for systemic design. In P. Jones (Ed.), Proceedings of Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD3) Symposium. Oslo School of Architecture and Design. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284488565_A_Framework_for_Systemic_Design
van der Bijl-Brouwer, M. (2020). Systemic design principles in social innovation: A study of expert practices and design rationales. Design Studies, 67, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2019.11.001
Jones, P., & Kijima, K. (2018). Systemic design principles for complex social systems. In P. Jones & K. Kijima (Eds.), Systemic design (pp. 3–52). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55639-8_1
Vink, J., Wetter-Edman, K., & Johansson-Sköldberg, U. (2023). Embodied, everyday systemic design: A pragmatist perspective. Design Issues, 39(4), 35–49. https://doi.org/10.1162/desi_a_00738
Conference Proceedings / Community Resources
Relating Systems Thinking and Design Symposium (RSD). (2011–present). Proceedings of the Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD) Symposia. Systemic Design Association. https://rsdsymposium.org
Systemic Design Association. (n.d.). Systemic design resources and publications. https://systemic-design.org