Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Design Now! The Agenda for Action
Summary
Juhan Sonin will show how design actually gets things done inside healthcare and public systems—where nothing is clean, politics are thick, and progress comes from pushing through bullshit, not waiting for permission. The key isn’t just starting, it’s starting with an agenda: a point of view, a spine, and the integrity to hold the line when the system tries to grind you down. Through real projects in public health, civic tech, and AI, Juhan Sonin shares how scrappy, messy ideas turned into shipped services for millions, often spawning better projects than the ones we started with.
Key Insights
-
•
Small side projects can seed major healthcare initiatives over time.
-
•
Personal motivation, like Johan’s health card, can spur innovation despite lack of initial funding.
-
•
Healthcare design requires narrow focus due to the system's immense complexity.
-
•
Iterating many ideas improves the chance of producing impactful solutions.
-
•
Economic interests, especially in private healthcare, often conflict with user-centered design goals.
-
•
Civic stamina and grit are critical for sustaining long-term policy and system changes.
-
•
Designing for policy and systemic context is as important as user experience design.
-
•
Technical interoperability advances, such as open source testing tools, have paved the way for national data standards.
-
•
Patient data ownership is a complex but essential future focus, requiring legal and technical innovation.
-
•
Non-binding local ballots can be effective signals towards broader health policy changes.
Notable Quotes
"Nobody asked for this damn thing, nobody funded it, but we just made it."
"If someone says hell no, don’t stop, keep going."
"The more ideas you make, the quality of your ideas also goes up."
"Why the hell would you wanna move the furniture?—Gropius on design arrogance."
"For every dollar spent on cancer care, roughly four are spent on administration."
"HIPAA isn’t that complicated; sending data to patients only needs two sentences."
"If you get eight people who give a crap together, you can start a federal agency."
"Designing healthcare means thinking about how your city, state, and nation work."
"You have to find your needle focus and go after it."
"Civic stamina is the grind of hearing no a lot while pushing toward yes."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Architecture is like the original UX because it’s all about user experience and how people move through a space, which relates to how we design products."
Caitlyn Hampton Monica Lee Jina YoonCompass 101: Growing Your Career In A Startup World
June 11, 2021
"Getting partners involved in research may mean accepting some imperfect interviews."
James Wieselman SchulmanResearch is a team sport: advancing the work when everyone does the research
March 11, 2026
"Fragmented decision-making can have an outsized impact on an organization's success."
Kristin SkinnerOpening Keynote: Org Design for Design Orgs
November 6, 2017
"If you’re recruiting for research projects, look critically at your job descriptions for embedded barriers to diverse candidates."
Joi FreemanA New Vantage Point: Building a Pipeline for Multifaceted Research(ers)
March 30, 2020
"Auto-complete absolutely is an accessibility feature because it helps reduce typing effort for screen reader users."
Sam ProulxUnderstanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
June 6, 2023
"Trust is created between two people. Safety is created in a group of people."
Alla WeinbergHow to Build and Scale Team Safety
January 8, 2024
"Without a clearly articulated vision, you are aiming without knowing what the target is."
Satyam KantamneniDo You Have an Experience Vision?
March 23, 2023
"Knowing that you love the earth activates you to defend and protect, but feeling that the earth loves you transforms it into a sacred bond."
Sahibzada Mayed Lauren LinCultivating Design Ecologies of Care, Community, and Collaboration
October 4, 2023
"We found that depending on what culture you’re in, words like insight and innovation can be very hard to translate."
Robert SchwartzWe're Here for the Humans
June 9, 2017
