Design as a Force for Good

We built the disruption. Who paid for it?

We love products that disrupt, but do we ever stop to ask, who is that disruption for and is that ever for something good?

I believe design is a force for good.

I had a conversation recently that stuck with me. Take Gojek or any gig-based delivery services. From the get-go, you can say it helps create “jobs” or at least “living” for its service providers. Drivers earn a living, customers get things done relatively quickly. For developing markets, or for governments who don’t care, this is such a great idea. More people can get on their earning journey helping their livelihood fast.

But on the other side, there is no employment contract. No insurance. No protection from abuse.

In 2022, researchers documented that between 2015 and mid-2022, at least 89 motorcycle drivers from app-based platforms in Indonesia died in road accidents. The same year, two Gojek drivers in Indonesia separately took their own lives. Both were reportedly under severe financial pressure. One was found near a railway…