What is 'Public Design'?

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We’re on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh for a walking conversation with Lucy Kimbell — engineer-turned-artist-turned-academic, and one of the sharpest observers of how design actually lands in government.

Lucy has spent over 20 years moving between design, art, academia, and public administration. She’s worked with the UK Government’s Policy Lab, contributed to the recent Public Design Evidence Review, and now teaches and researches at the intersection of design, policy, and futures. We caught up whilst both of us were speaking at SD in Gov Conference in Edinburgh, in September 2025!

In this episode, we get real about three big themes:

1️⃣ Public design – what it actually is

Lucy untangles the messy overlap between policy design, service design, content design, digital, UX and more — and explains why public design centres' legitimacy and accountability to citizens, not just delivery metrics.

2️⃣ Conditions for good service design in tough times

We talk about inclusion, accessibility and co-creation, but also the hard stuff most conferences skip: politics, ideology, austerity, AI “silver bullets” and what scaffolding leaders need so design doesn’t get crushed by budget cuts or tech solutionism.

3️⃣ Careers with impact in uncertain worlds

From appropriate technology and feminist theatre to business schools, labs and policy work, Lucy shares the three habits that have shaped her path: curiosity, experimentalism and critical reflection — and how they help designers work further upstream with policy and senior leadership.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How “public design” emerged as a term and why legitimacy matters
• Why institutions are struggling — and what that means for designers
• The uncomfortable role of politics in design for the public sector
• How AI, venture capital and big tech are reshaping government expectations
• Practical advice for designers who want more impact in government and civic spaces
• A preview of Lucy’s upcoming book on futures for design

🏰 We recorded this while walking the Royal Mile up to Edinburgh Castle — if you’re listening on audio, jump over to YouTube to get the full sense of place and atmosphere (yes, including a bit of rain!).

Links
Cabinet Office (2025). Public Design Evidence Review

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-public-design-evidence-review

Service Innovation Handbook (2014) by Lucy Kimbell

https://www.bispublishers.com/the-service-innovation-handbook.html

Substack for upcoming book Futures for Design: Scenarios for Uncertain Worlds

https://substack.com/@lucykimbell

Academic publications (open access) - https://researchers.arts.ac.uk/1178-lucy-kimbell/

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• Gerry Scullion - Host
• Lucy Kimbell - Guest
• Stef Murphy - Producer
• Serdar Mele - Editor