Headshot of Kim Erwin alongside name and logo for “The Design of Business the Business of Design”

January 31, 2023

Dana Arnett and Kevin Bethune Interview Kim Erwin

Kim talks about the importance of having a systems-aware perspective and the evolving role of design in delivering healthcare.

Kim Erwin recently visited the Design Observer podcast “The Design of Business | The Business of Design,” hosted by VSA’s Dana Arnett and dreams • design + life CCO Kevin Bethune. Kim Erwin is the Director of the Equitable Healthcare Lab and Associate Professor of Practice at IIT Institute of Design. She is also the co-founder of the Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design at the University of Illinois Chicago and the author of “Communicating the New: Methods to Shape and Accelerate Innovation.”

Kim joined Dana and Kevin to discuss the role of design in delivering care, the challenge of traditional innovation processes when applied to healthcare, and the importance of approaching problems from a systems-aware perspective:

“In order to fix it, in order to begin to innovate in it, you need to have this systems-aware perspective. Most designers want to move outside the health system because there’s more latitude. However, anything that you create that’s outside the system by design is of no interest in the system. And so the ability to get scale, to reach all the people you need to reach—these are the limitations of traditional innovation methods applied to healthcare.”

“The Design of Business | The Business of Design” is a podcast from Design Observer, now in its 10th season. Dana Arnett and Kevin Bethune co-host the show, exploring how design works within complex organizations to shape decisions and processes, drive innovation, evolve products and services, and more.

Click here to listen to the episode and learn more about this Design Observer podcast.

Dana Arnett

Dana Arnett

Chairman & Founder

For nearly four decades, Dana has been a guiding force behind VSA’s creation of brand programs, digital and interactive initiatives, and marketing solutions for its diverse roster of world-class clients. After serving for many years as VSA’s CEO, Dana guides the strategic growth of the agency in his current role as Chairman and Founder. Since founding VSA with Robert Vogele, his career has been steeped in design leadership, policymaking, business and brand consulting, and a long record of public service. He has been recognized internationally by multiple organizations for his contributions to design and design thinking, including the Smithsonian Institute. In 2016, Dana worked with the State Department under the Obama administration to brand and launch Spark, the first-ever government-led global entrepreneurship initiative. Dana is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, a recipient of the AIGA Medal, and a former board member of the Architecture & Design Society at the Art Institute of Chicago and Project&. He recently served as National President of the AIGA and currently stars as the co-host of Design Observers’ The Design of Business | The Business of Design podcast.