Leverage points revisited: how social designers (can) apply systemic knowledge to make impact

Social design is a growing practice field and expected to create impact on socio-technical systems and society at large. It positions designers to commit themselves to long-term visions and coordinate social change accordingly (Tromp & Vial, 2023). This requires designers to have a good understanding of what impact means, and how social design can make it. This understanding is needed both between different designers that work together and between designers and the organizations that could benefit from social design. Often the language used by designers doesn’t overlap with the more organizational language of stakeholders. Especially when discussing long-term visions there is a need for a shared “impact language”.