Pandemic as generator of ideas

As circumstances are changing under the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic so too must certain ways of living, working and even thinking. For example, rules on social distancing are having an impact on the ways people work and how they travel to work (working from home affects the use of public transport and office space requirements), on the ways people do their shopping (online sales impact distribution and point of sale arrangements) or on the ways education is organised and delivered (online learning impacts the need for traditional teaching and learning spaces). Faced with such challenges to contemporary ways of living and working, designers, through creative questioning (what-ifs), are well placed to help deliver innovative solutions. But attention should be given to the limits to idea communication during a period of social distancing, that is, online communication at the expense of physical presentation and encounters. Or, what is being lost if ideators cannot show, share or collaborate ideas face-to-face?