Design science is the comprehensive and anticipatory application of the principles of science to the creative design of solutions to the problems of society. It is a way of changing the world in preferred directions that is based on innovation and thrives on transparency.

Design Science is comprehensive, in that it starts from the whole system and works back to the special case; it deals with all facets of a problem including the larger system of which the problem is a part; in this sense, design science seeks to build capacity, not just solve problems; anticipatory, in that it seeks to recognize the threats coming down the pike before they arrive full blown on an unsuspecting or ill-prepared society; it deals with the way things are going to be when the solution is going to be implemented, not just the way things are in the present; a design strategy, in contradistinction to a political or ‘let’s pass-a-law-and-change-human-behavior’ approach, seeks to change the larger system of which the specific problem is a part through the introduction of innovative artifacts or policies; a science-based methodology that uses the latest advances of science and technology to benefit humanity.

This comprehensive anticipatory design science is at least as much a perspective on the problems of the world as it is a methodology for tackling those problems. When applied to contemporary problems, it can lead to strikingly fresh insights and solutions.



In Buckminster Fuller's words, design science is a process where individuals or teams of people can "make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone."

By Medard Gabel, CEO BigPictureSmallWorld, Inc.