Our Mission
We explore solutions for wicked problems by demonstrating the possibilities of games in context, thereby contributing to the future of game design
Innovation Studio is a research and design unit of HKU. As a team, we form the basic composition of a design team capable of exploring game-inspired solutions to societal challenges. Challenges relating to problems around motivation and perception of behaviour of people in everyday life.
The exponential growth of games globally has shown the capabilities of this medium to attract, capture and maintain human attention. But what a waste if this capability is not used for other purposes than mere entertainment.
We believe that using the tools, technologies, methodologies, insights and learnings from this field can be used to solve many real-world issues. It can be difficult to make people adhere to desired behaviours due to a lack of motivation, a blocked or negative perception, or an apparent roadblock to overcome to perform specific actions.
Many organisations and professions encounter these problems in their specific context. Medical experts strive for patients to adhere to certain healthy behaviours in care, cure and prevention. Governments strive for citizens to adhere to certain behaviours in the public space, which is currently more evident than ever. Cultural heritage institutions want to motivate visitors to come, to learn and to be excited. And our education system struggles with low motivation levels among their learners.
Our aim is to push the boundaries of exploration and to use the latest insights from the design field to contribute in solving these issues.
We operate in both the methodological approach as well as in the solution space. The studio works with external partners to help them articulate their problems and support them in a design-driven solution trajectory. We pioneer solutions whenever appropriate and collaborate with design agencies when market partners have the capabilities to solve the problems with a well prepared client.
Our vision
We create exemplary meaningful innovative solutions for wicked problems in society based on a (game-inspired) design approach
Design is a verb. It is a profession. We actively pursue and conduct design processes in order to further the field. We use every project as an iteration on the progression of our knowledge and insights, actively disseminating our findings both inside and outside HKU.
The creation of solutions is not a means to an end; it is a strategy to use real life situations and problems to articulate the best way to conduct innovation processes and strategies, while learning innovative solution strategies as a spin-off result.