The
question
posed
for
this
blog
post
is,
“How
might
the
current
COVID
crisis
impact
design
for
the
better?”
But,
because
I
have
infinite
belief
in
the
power
of
design
to
create
positive
change,
I
prefer
to
turn
the
question
around
and
ask,
“How
might
design
impact
the
current
crisis
for
the
better?”Since
the
world
stayed
home,
there
has
been
a
proliferation
of
thoughtful
industry
dialog
and
brainstorming
about
what
comes
next
for
the
office
environment.
What
will
the
workplace
look
like
in
the
post-COVID-19
world?
How
will
it
need
to
function
in
order
to
be
successful
in
the
“new
...
Events
of
the
past
centuries,
the
past
decades,
and
most
recently
the
past
weeks
and
days,
have
painfully
and
plainly
illuminated
the
disparities
in
our
culture
and
society.
It’s
become
abundantly
clear
that
facing
these
challenges
can’t
be
done
alone
and
a
widespread
collective
effort
is
necessary
for
great
societal
change
to
take
place.
The
current
protests
and
dialogue
around
racial
injustice
have
exposed
how
much
work
really
needs
to
be
done
for
us
to
all
“be
in
this
together”—truly
confronting
racism,
injustice,
and
inequity
is
critical.
We
know
that
design
is
but
one
small
part
of
that
larger
equation—so
...
The
pandemic
has
forced
us
to
rethink
the
way
we
work
and
given
us
a
lesson
in
what
is
really
important.
It
has
been
an
interesting
experiment
that
we
could
never
have
imagined
before:
could
we,
in
this
age
of
untethered
technology,
work
remotely
all
the
time?
The
answer
is
a
resounding
“yes
we
can,”
but
it
is
not
quite
the
same
and
it
is
not
good
for
us
in
the
long
term.
It
is
interesting
that
video
conferencing
has
replaced
not
only
in-person
meetings
but
telephone
calls
as
well.
I
find
myself
doing
video
calls
for
everything
these
days
...
People
are
talking
about
the
“new
normal”
and
the
great
reset.
But
if
there’s
one
small
silver
lining
from
all
of
this,
it
might
be
that
work
from
home
works.
For
the
most
part.
Working
from
home
has
suddenly
become
a
viable
alternative
to
going
to
the
office
five-plus
days
per
week.
The
Bay
Area’s
shelter
in
place
order
happened
so
fast
there
wasn’t
time
for
an
orderly
transition.
Any
plans
for
a
gradual
shift
of
equipment,
programs,
and
staff
was
out
the
window.
We
had
no
choice
but
to
make
it
work.
There
was
a
learning
curve
for
everyone;
...
Twenty
years
ago,
Richard
and
I
were
both
on
the
IIDA
Board
when
we
hit
an
unexpected
financial
snag.
It
was
serious
enough
that
we
had
to
curtail
all
programming
and
events
while
we
sorted
out
the
mess
and
rebuilt
IIDA’s
brand
and
purpose.
While
the
circumstances
were
dire
at
the
time,
in
retrospect,
they
provided
an
opportunity
for
IIDA
to
re-
invent
itself.
All
associations
need
to
periodically
refresh
their
mandate
but
proposing
to
make
changes
or
cuts
to
established
programming
is
usually
a
tough
sell.
No
one
wants
to
give
up
anything,
which
is
why
change
takes
a
...
