Designing for humans means recognizing our distinctions and commonalities at the same time. Human-centred design suggests that we design for individuals’ needs and wants. As the theory goes, once we empathize with our intended users by doing some background research or even involving them in the creation of the ‘thing’ we are designing for, we …
Our designs put too much focus on our intentions and desires and to the neglect our realities and tendencies. Design is a positive field of practice. At it’s core, design is about making things and transforming our futures. Designers tend to be optimistic and energetic individuals, which is what allows them to inspire new thinking …
Subscription models are changing the way we think about products, services, and the creativity and tools that shape them. Two articles that might seem unrelated appeared in my feed one morning: one on creativity and the other on subscription-based business models. Writing for Vox, Terry Nguyen looks at how the business and arts sectors have …
Innovation means trying new things and that involves overcoming fear by and through design efforts Of the many barriers to successful innovation, the constellation of fears associated with prototyping and evaluation might be the greatest of them all. This is partly due to the high diving board problem, but also because innovation means learning, making, …
Being curious is a means to discovery and innovation and requires an energy that many are finding in short supply. If you’ve ever doubted the idea that focusing on caring for ourselves — the personal psychology and wellbeing of innovators — is worthwhile when discussing innovation consider what drives curiosity, the foundation of discovery and …
Design’s value is limited in the abstract and unlocked when practiced (and only if practiced) If you are seeking to learn the fundamentals of design — design thinking, for example — the temptation is to feel that exposure to theories, models, tools, and ways of thinking are enough to get you on your way. This …
The means to developing the ability to create useful, valued products and service comes from learning through doing. What is the best way to learn design? Design something. It’s a bit trite to say this, but it’s true. Someone can be a designer having never taken a design course or completed a degree or they …
Transparency without honesty is a way to create illusions under the guise of trust, truth and accountability. Work in human services long enough and you’ll come to learn that transparency is a word made of top-quality plastic — it can be molded into whatever people want it to mean. It’s a feel-good word that gives …
Design thinking is best approached as a habit, not as an exercise. Just as ‘critical thinking’ isn’t meant to be applied sporadically to one’s life, neither is design thinking.
Creativity can come from destruction. There are ways to think about this can can turn the down into something positive.
