How to Co-Design Value in a Changing Digital World
We often talk about the digital future as if it’s a fixed destination — a gleaming arc of smarter tools, faster connections, and frictionless progress. But behind the keynote slides and launch-day hype, a tougher question remains: Whose definition of “value” is actually steering this future?
At Something Digital Brisbane, Veronica Nolan — Acting Head of Entrepreneurship at UQ Ventures — is inviting us to face that question head-on. Her masterclass isn’t a passive panel or a glossy trend forecast. It’s forty minutes of active work: a rapid-fire co-design sprint to imagine digital experiences that are more inclusive, more purposeful, and genuinely human-centred.
| Old Metrics Mindset | Co-Designed Value Mindset |
|---|---|
| Growth at all costs | Sustainable growth aligned with community wellbeing |
| Engagement measured in clicks, time on site | Engagement measured in trust, shared purpose, and meaningful impact |
| Value defined by shareholders | Value defined through dialogue with all stakeholders, including marginalised voices |
| One-size-fits-all success criteria | Context-specific, culturally informed success measures |
| Technology as neutral tool | Technology as value-encoded, shaping culture and power |
| Optimise for efficiency | Optimise for human flourishing and ecological balance |
This isn’t about tweaking a colour palette or swapping in friendlier copy. It’s about redesigning the success metrics themselves — moving from growth-at-all-costs to measures that honour communities, cultures, and the planet.
Why It Resonates with Communication Generation
Redefining value in a digital world isn’t just a design exercise — it’s a cultural act. If we don’t decide what matters, the metrics will be written for us by those who benefit from extraction and scale. Value can’t be reduced to clicks or conversions; in deeper traditions, it emerges from relationships, reciprocity, and long-term responsibility.
Our measures need to honour the complexity of human life — not strip it down to what can be easily quantified. They should recognise that real worth is co-created between people, places, and systems, and that any digital design ignoring those connections will be fragile. The work ahead isn’t to make the machine run smoother; it’s to make sure it’s taking us somewhere worth going.
At Communication Generation, we hold that communication in the digital age is never neutral — it encodes values, priorities, and power structures. Metrics are no different. Measure the wrong thing and you will build the wrong thing.
Veronica’s approach starts from a simple but radical premise: value is co-created. It’s negotiated between designers, users, communities, and sometimes even adversaries. In an economy where attention has become the currency, she’s asking us to redefine “engagement” beyond the click-through and into the realm of meaning.
I might diverge on certain points — for example, I’d argue that “free time” online is not always a strategic asset; sometimes it’s a sacred boundary. But that’s exactly the value of co-design: it surfaces tensions, forces honest negotiation, and creates richer, more resilient outcomes.
Inside the Masterclass
Spot outdated assumptions
Uncover the hidden beliefs baked into your current metrics that no longer serve — or perhaps never did.
Co-design meaningful metrics
Use collaborative tools to create success measures that reflect equity, purpose, and human impact.
Reframe “free time”
Consider whether unstructured digital time is a wasted opportunity or a space for rest, reflection, and deeper connection.
About Veronica Nolan
As head of UQ Ventures, Veronica builds entrepreneurial capacity in students and founders, guiding teams through strategic design, facilitation, and collaborative innovation. She has worked with leadership teams and whole sectors to design systems that invite participation, creativity, and shared ownership.
Her core belief — and the thread that connects to our work at Communication Generation — is that we cannot afford to drift into the next phase of the digital era on autopilot. We must design it together, with intent and humility, so the systems we build genuinely serve the people who inhabit them.
