Passing the bullshit meter

“These people have a high bullshit meter,” said Niti Bhan, founder of Emerging Futures Lab, at Designit’s Business with the Poor seminar last week, referring to the four billion people who live on less than $2 a day at the base of the socio-economic pyramid (BoP). The aim of the seminar was to provide a fundamental understanding of new BoP markets and how design can be a strategic tool in this new context. We had a great turnout – with participants from the corporate, non-profit and academic world – proof of the growing interest in the field.
Everyone quickly had an aha-moment: this isn’t merely about making products cheaper! It’s about understanding a life of adversity – and developing solutions to meet these needs.
Which brings me to Niti’s point about the bullshit meter, a cynicism engrained in the unique mindset of the BoP customer. And how design consultancies can help companies target BoP markets.
BoP projects are design intensive. The market is demanding. And for all the wonderful visions currently emerging from businesses and policy-makers, one thing is missing: results. Designers go the last mile – materialising visions in a way that is meaningful, relevant and valuable to the user. This is what we do in collaboration with Emerging Futures Lab.
And yes, that means getting companies past the bullshit meter…