Beyond the Method: Ethnography as a Mindset
What if we saw ethnography not just as another tool in the design toolkit but as a way of thinking that could fundamentally reshape how we approach design and strategy? Ethnography is often treated as just a research method, but at its core, it is much more than that. It is about immersion in the innate setting, a focus on the lived experiences of individuals and communities, and a holistic perspective on social and cultural phenomena - grounded in exploration, interpretation, and contextual understanding.
This session will explore how embracing an ethnographic mindset rooted in deep curiosity, empathy, and critical reflection can help designers and strategists move beyond surface-level insights to truly understand people in context. Ethnographic thinking encourages us to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and embrace the nuance of what it means to be human at a given moment. Drawing on real-world examples from design and service strategy, we will show how this mindset can lead to more innovative, inclusive, and human-centred solutions and transform how we design systems, products, and policies. Whether you are a seasoned researcher, a strategist, or just ethno-curious, this talk will offer practical ways to bring deeper thinking into your everyday work.
Bec Purser and Sophie Goodman
Bec Purser is a Service Designer with over a decade of experience in finance, government, telecommunications, media, and professional services. She’s passionate about participatory design, public transport, and speculative thinking.
As Senior Manager of Service Design at Transport for NSW, Bec leads a team dedicated to improving customer experiences through innovative and inclusive design solutions. A graduate of the Design Anthropology master’s program at Swinburne University, she specialised in participatory design within an Indigenous context.
Bec explores data ethics, human behaviour in public spaces, and beyond/post-human-centred design in her spare time.
Sophie is an anthropologist and an experienced practitioner of qualitative and ethnographic research in applied settings. She has worked for boutique agencies and for large global consulting organisations in design research, service design, innovation and strategy consulting roles.
She has a Masters in Applied Anthropology and received the Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence and the ethnographic methodology prize for this degree. She is also active in the social science community internationally with volunteering, committee and ambassador roles for practicing anthropologists in Australia, US and Europe.