Hey Reader,

I am not going to pretend things are easy right now.

The world is noisy. Everything feels like it is shifting. Budgets are being cut. Teams are being restructured. AI is being positioned as the answer to questions nobody asked. And in the middle of all of it, the people doing the actual work of designing better services for real humans are being asked to do more with less, justify their existence, and somehow stay optimistic.

I hear it every week. In emails. On calls. In DMs from people who are tired.

And I get it. I feel it too. I am not just observing this. I am living it.

I have recently lost out on several large programmes of work. I have capacity. And the incline of being independent - which was already steep - just got steeper. Anyone running their own practice right now knows exactly what I mean. The work is out there, but the doors are harder to open, the decisions take longer, and the budgets that were there six months ago have quietly disappeared.

I am not telling you this for sympathy. I am telling you because I think it is important to be honest about where we are. And because I know I am not the only one feeling it.

But here is what I keep coming back to.

This is exactly when it matters most.

Not the frameworks. Not the certifications. Not the double diamonds and the post-it notes and the six-step processes that look great in a slide deck but crumble the moment they meet a real organisation with real politics and real constraints.

I am talking about the core of what we do. Listening to people. Understanding their lives. Designing services that treat them with dignity. Fighting for the things that actually make a difference - even when nobody is clapping.

Public services have never needed this more. People are navigating systems that were not built for them, at moments when they are most vulnerable. And the people who know how to make those systems better? That is us. That is you.

So why then does it feel like we are on the back foot?

Because the world got loud. And when the world gets loud, the nuance gets drowned out. The people with the biggest budgets and the boldest claims get the airtime. And the quiet, careful, human work of actually understanding people and designing with them - that gets pushed to the margins.

I have been thinking about this a lot. And I keep coming back to the same idea.

We are entering the age of Design Punk.

I was chatting with Ben Reason recently about an upcoming episode of the podcast, and I mentioned the phrase "Design Punk." We spoke about what it was about the punk movement that feels so prevalent at the moment. It is something I have been throwing around in training sessions over the last year. And it sticks. Because there is a strong frame of reference. People get it immediately.

I love the punk movement for what it was. It was not about polish. It was not about permission. It was about stripping things back to what mattered and doing it anyway. Three chords and the truth. No waiting for someone to sign off. No pretending the system was going to fix itself.

That is where I think we are right now.

Back to basics. But still creating powerful, actionable, valuable work.

Not waiting for the perfect project, the perfect budget, or the perfect stakeholder who finally gets it. Just doing the work. Starting small. Proving it with outcomes, not slide decks.

Design Punk means you do not need a seat at the table to make something that matters. You need conviction. You need craft. And you need to stay true to what you believe in - that people deserve better, and that you know how to help deliver it.

It also means calling out what is not working.

Like co-design theatre - where we invite people into the room but the decisions have already been made. Where the process looks participatory but the power has not shifted. Dr Lesley-Ann Noel named this beautifully on the podcast, and I think it is one of the most important ideas in the book I am writing. Because if we are going to call ourselves human-centred, we need to mean it. Not perform it.

Design Punk does not perform. It delivers.

I think the good need to stand up right now. Not with grand statements. Not with manifestos pinned to boardroom doors. But with work. Real work. The kind that changes how someone experiences a service on their worst day. The kind that makes a government form actually make sense. The kind that treats a person applying for support like a human being, not a case number.

That is the work. And it has never been more important.

One more thing.

If any of this resonates - and I suspect it might, because I know the kind of people who read this newsletter - I need your help with something.

We run training. Not the kind that gives you a certificate and sends you on your way. The kind that builds real capability in teams - how to do research ethically, how to facilitate co-design that is not theatre, how to navigate organisations that resist this work, and how to keep going when the noise gets loud. We provide exponential value to practitioners and organisations.

In-house programmes, online programmes, public courses, and custom work designed around where your team actually is.

If you know a team that needs this - a team that believes in this stuff but does not know how to make it real - I would be grateful if you could forward this email or make an introduction. Point them to www.thisishcd.com or have them reach out to me directly at gerry@humana.design.

Every conversation starts with someone like you saying, "I know someone you should talk to." That is Design Punk too. Looking out for each other.

Lastly

The directory on www.thisishcd.com is growing - we had 40 new profiles last week alone :-)

We are building it so people can search for practitioners offering coaching, consultancy, research, and facilitation. If that is what you do, keep an eye on it. We want to give you all the tools to connect and build relationships so we can all succeed in whatever mission you are on.

The book - This is Human Centered Design - is getting closer. More soon.

Thanks for reading.

Stay loud. Stay kind. Stay punk.

Gerry

Gerry Scullion​ Founder & Designer ​ We are building a global network of people doing human-centred work. Come add your name, learn, listen, connect and network - it's free!→ thisishcd.com/directory​

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