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Designing the Change You Want To See

by Meena Kadri

Drawing on the notion in my last post for the potential of designers to “catalyse conversations,” I spoke to Megan Hosking: web designer, social entrepreneur and co-founder of the Intersect network.

Intersect is about fostering sustainability and cultural transformation. We bring together young professionals to share ideas, nurture our leadership capabilities and grow our networks. Our membership boasts a wide range of people with different beliefs, backgrounds, sectors and experience…

The online network has over 1000 members (and growing) from around the country who can use the online platform to learn, inspire, seek assistance, share events and develop opportunities. It has facilitated a number of initiatives including Frocks on Bikes and the young artists competition Waiora: Arteries of Aotearoa alongside a number of vibrant social gatherings such as Pitch Black Drinks which saved energy by killing the lights at its downtown venue. Intersect also provides a platform for local activities from community gardening to eco-fashion and has supported youth in attending events such as the Better By Design sustainability summit.

“I was becoming aware that the systems within which operate are growing inadequate” notes Megan. “But I’ve never been cynical – I don’t stop at the point of observation and instead look beyond this to see what I can contribute and what I can change.” In this sense the Intersect network mobilises members towards pro-activity around things that they want to change.

Megan was able to capitalise on her experience as a web designer to envision how to create a participatory online network. She chose the open source social networking Ning platform which was developed in Silicon Valley and has been customised by over a million groups worldwide from hyperlocal communities to transglobal companies (including Air New Zealand) to serve more than 30 million registered members worldwide. Megan’s savvy use of the platform was picked up by the crew at Ning early on, who championed Intersect and were in direct contact about functionality and features she wanted. Some items from her wishlist were developed and implemented and have benefited users of the platform worldwide – forging a path from Silicon Welly to Silicon Valley and beyond.

The Intersect network was made possible through Megan’s Good Fridays initiative at her design studio, Alto – where she realised her role as an employer was to sustain individuals. In an effort to be supportive of employees’ wider needs and interests while questioning the productivity of a 40 hour week,
Fridays were deemed a non-client day. Staff could work on personal projects, jobs for friends, develop new skills, surf the internet or surf the south coast depending on their intentions which were shared on Friday mornings. Surprisingly this did not have a negative effect on the week’s productivity and in fact enriched many client design projects.

When a staff member wanting to develop skills in Flash and was looking for a project, Megan came up with an impromptu inkling of the Intersect idea and his resulting animation still welcomes people to the site today. Megan had been using Good Fridays to serve her own commitments to the Sustainability Trust and other community driven intiatives so it was a natural progression to the initial development of the online social network during this time. Intersect has flourished from Fridays to everyday and from a core group of trustees to a national self-organising community.

Megan agrees that designers can play an active role in social innovation. “Be generous, be aspirational, be brave, be bold” she advises. One may query whether we can afford to – but perhaps a better question would be whether we can afford not to?