MonthNote #6: March 2025

Disclaimer: This is my personal journal and includes rough notes from my PhD journey. Some thoughts may be incomplete or not thoroughly researched. Please do not consider any content in my monthly notes to be definitive or final. If you have insights on any subjects I discuss or would like to start a conversation on a topic, please get in touch!

March has been one of those months where I’ve felt like I haven’t achieved much, but when I actually list everything I’ve been doing, it turns out to be quite a lot.

As mentioned in last month’s Monthnotes, I had the opportunity to go to Vienna for a conference and stayed a few extra days for sightseeing. Since I was there until 1st March, I decided to include my thoughts in this month’s update. In the end, I wrote a separate blog post instead, which you can read here.

Overall, I enjoyed Vienna, and Nick and I got to tick another country off our list. The event itself was great, though smaller than I had expected. That may have worked in my favour, as it was my first time presenting my PhD research to a non-academic audience. It was useful to see if people lost interest completely before I take it to bigger events. Thankfully, no snores were heard, and a few people even came up to me during the break for a chat.

The post I wrote about Japan also went live on LinkedIn in the first week of March. You can read the full blog here.

PhD study

I’ve been reading a lot about the public vs private sector and writing up what I find interesting. So far, I’ve mainly focused on the history and broad differences, but now I’m looking specifically at design in public and private sector organisations. I’m curious to see if one is written about more, whether there are differences in ways of working, and if designers use different methods or prioritise different things. I’ve come up with a bit of a plan to focus on a specific time and space and map out what I find.

A conversation with a friend recently got me thinking about how personal experiences shape our views. We were talking about socialism and communism, and they were really into the idea of socialism, which I found surprising. I don’t share their perspective—probably because most of my family grew up in communist Poland—but I like having friends with different views. It makes me think about how our age, background, and context shape the way we see politics and society. It’s also pushed me to read more about nationalism and privatisation, both of which play into the conversations I’m having in my research.

This month, I had three great interviews, one of them even in person, which was a nice change. I’ve got four more booked for April, which will take me to ten. That’s a solid number, but I can already see that I’ll need to put out another social media post to bring in more participants. I’m still on schedule, but I need to keep booking people in regularly if I want to wrap up interviews this year.

I’ve started mapping out the data on a Miro whiteboard and have been looking into gigamapping as a method. Rachel mentioned it—probably while disappearing down one of her research rabbit holes—and it looks like the best thing ever. It seems like it’ll help me untangle what’s becoming an increasingly complex and nuanced area. Gigamapping sits within the Systems-Oriented Design (SOD) framework, which draws from systems thinking (a way of making sense of complexity by looking at relationships and the whole picture rather than breaking things down into parts) and systems practice (a way of understanding and navigating complex environments to identify the most impactful dynamics).

I also finally got my hands on Universal Methods of Ethical Design by Chivukula Sai Shruthi and Colin Gray. It’s a collection of 100 methods that design teams can use to make their design process more ethically aware. I had a quick skim through and have already found a method that might be useful in my PhD later on.

Volunteering and Co-Teaching

I've been part of GAABS for a few months now, having joined as a student member and supported one of their projects. Recently, they asked if anyone was interested in joining their new editorial board, and, as usual, I put my hand up. To be honest, I didn’t expect to be considered. Even though this was something I had been aiming for, I assumed it would take years before I had the opportunity to join an editorial board.

As it turns out, I was invited to an introductory call, sent a form to fill out, and am now a Research Publication Lead on the GAABS editorial board! I still can’t quite believe it, but I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity.

This means I’ll need to scale back other volunteering commitments for a while, as I’m already at capacity and risk burning out if I don’t start prioritising. My supervisors have also reminded me—quite rightly—that I need to start saying no to things and focus more on my PhD. My husband would probably agree.

I’m not entirely sure what the role will involve yet, but from what I understand, I’ll be part of the team shaping the GAABS Newsletter, social media channels, and other future publications. Each board member commits for one year, with the option to renew for a second, though roles rotate annually. The baseline contribution is 3–5 hours a month, with seasonal fluctuations around conference months.

This month, I also volunteered during a seminar in the T190 module at the Open University, where I spoke about Service Design. I co-taught the session with Rachel, and we deliberately showcased our different presentation styles. The idea was to demonstrate that the tool or format doesn’t matter as much as the storytelling behind it.

I took the first 20 minutes, walking the audience through a Miro whiteboard I had prepared. I explained my process (Double Diamond) and some of the design thinking methods I use regularly. I also shared real-life examples, including one of my favourite projects—an NHS initiative around self-isolation during the COVID pandemic. I introduced them to some of my go-to templates, including my “Frankenstein” journey mapping template, which combines three methods: interviewing, experience diagramming, and RTB (Rose, Thorn, Bud). It’s a template I use when time in a project is scarce - so all the time!

Rachel then presented her work using a set of well-prepared slides. She introduced herself, her practice, and her ways of working before focusing on personas, empathy maps, and user stories. She also spoke about the opportunities and challenges of applying these methods in practice.

We wrapped up with our key takeaways:

• “Rough and ready does the job.”

• “Don’t let tech constrain you.”

• “The format isn’t as important as the story being told.”

• “It’s tough but worth it.”

The students were highly engaged and asked great questions, so it was good that we had built in an extended Q&A session. I had a few backup questions prepared in case we were met with tumbleweed, but that wasn’t necessary. The audience was genuinely interested, and their questions allowed us to dive deeper into specific methods and practices.

Co-writing

Rachel and I have several writing projects in progress. If my list is correct, we’re working on two book proposals, a journal article, and an online magazine article—but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve missed something. It’s never a good idea to leave us in a virtual room too long because there will be no end to ideas.

The journal article we’re developing is on a topic we both feel strongly about, and we’re currently working through the methodology. A key consideration is whether we need to go through the ethics committee, which will determine how we structure the research. I recently came across a great visualisation on LinkedIn (below) that maps out different research methodologies for both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Right now, we’re weighing up discourse analysis and thematic analysis. My instinct is that we’ll land on a combination of the two, but we’ll see where the process takes us.

Other Things I Got Up To This Month

I’ve been trying to find a reading group that focuses on topics I’m interested in for about three years now. Rachel and I even tried to set one up at the Open University, but it didn’t take off. So when I saw a post on LinkedIn a couple of months ago about a new group called A Reading Group for Hopeful Technologists, I knew my time had come!

This month, we had our first virtual catch-up, and the book of choice was Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin, which I mentioned in last month’s monthnotes. So many people signed up that we had to split into multiple breakout rooms, each with a facilitator guiding the discussion using a set of questions from the prompts we were sent beforehand. It was a great conversation—really thought-provoking.

The next session is on 4th April, covering the same book again now that it’s available in paperback. I won’t be able to make that one because we’re taking the furbabies for their annual jabs, but I’m looking forward to the May session. The book for that one is Resisting AI, and the author, Dan McQuillan, will be joining us! That’s definitely something to be excited about.

Beyond reading books, I spent a few days catching up with a friend who visited at the end of March. We took a trip to London for two exhibitions, starting with Naomi at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I’m not particularly interested in fashion exhibitions, and my dress sense is about as refined as a teaspoon’s. I also don’t fully understand why an exhibition of designer clothes is framed as being about a supermodel who wore them on the catwalk. However, I do recognise the impact she had, particularly in supporting the Black community. Activism and far-reaching cultural impact were central themes, and I enjoyed listening to the commentary about her as a person. The exhibition told a compelling story and did justice to her influence.

The second exhibition was at the new Moco Museum in Marble Arch. I hadn’t heard of the museum until my friend mentioned she wanted to go. The ticket prices were lower than other museums, so I was slightly concerned we’d be looking at reproductions. To my surprise, we found three floors of original works by some of the biggest names in modern contemporary art, including Jeff Koons, Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Daniel Arsham, who are some of my favourites!

This is the third Moco flagship museum, following the ones in Amsterdam and Barcelona. According to the staff, the artworks have already changed several times since the London opening in August 2024. I was genuinely impressed by the exhibition and will definitely visit again. A big surprise was discovering that Robbie Williams has been painting for two decades—his work was on display, and the museum is planning an exhibition of his art towards the end of April. My mum is a big fan of his music; I wonder if she’ll enjoy his art as much.

Going to exhibitions and seeing so much incredible work always reminds me how much I love painting and printmaking, and this month, I finally asked Nick to bring my easels in from the garage and painted three new pieces—I haven’t felt this good in years. Even though we have more space in this house, I struggled to find the right spot because everything is so new, and I didn’t want to splatter paint everywhere. But after my first online life-painting session, I felt like I was back where I belong. So, the easels, paints, and the smell of turpentine are officially back in the house.

I still need to get back into it, so my work isn’t great yet, but below are the first three paintings I’ve completed in over two years. And you also get a photo of me in our dining room trying not to get paint on the walls and floor.

Update on goals:

• Ran/walked: 264km (mainly walked this month; need to get back on the treadmill!)

• wrote at least 100 words a day: 26/31 days

• Read at least 20 pages a day: 19/31 days

• Healthy eating and drinking: 22/31 days

• Didn’t buy anything: 17/31 days