perception Archives

A Designers Approach to Decision-Making

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020 Cameron D. Norman 619 Views decision making, design thinking, elections, empathy, inclusive design, perception, psychology

The psychology and design of decisions are ones that we can influence whether we know it or not. Better design equals different decisions.

innovation

Perceptive Advantages

October 6, 2020October 7, 2020 Cameron D. Norman 1150 Views design, foresight, innovation, perception

Perception is what distinguishes some of the best innovators from others. There are ways to expand this view and give you the skills needed to see possibility.

psychology systems thinking

Middle Ground

September 21, 2020 Cameron D. Norman 569 Views complexity, illusion, perception, psychology, research, systems thinking

When ideas and opinions push to the extreme finding where the middle ground is becomes an innovation challenge. Darling I

innovation psychology systems thinking

Noticing and the Art of Paying Attention

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 Cameron D. Norman 843 Views attention, complexity, evaluation, innovation, mindfulness, noticing, perception, psychology, selective attention

Innovation is about seeing things differently. This article looks at how our perceptions of the world can influence what we see and what we miss and how evaluation can help with it all.

evaluation health

Survey Says What?

April 14, 2020 Cameron D. Norman 1565 Views complexity, covid-19, evaluation, health, perception, research, survey, VUCA

Our data collection efforts during a time of VUCA are impaired by not only our methods, but our sense of what is actually happening.

design psychology

The Empathy Gap

November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 Cameron D. Norman 1522 Views behavioural economics, design research, design thinking, empathy, Jon Kolko, marketing, neuroscience, perception, psychology, Remembrance Day, research, Rory Sutherland, service design

Empathy is considered to be at the bedrock of good design. But what if how we’re thinking about empathy is

evaluation systems thinking

The Forward Orientation Problem With Complexity

June 26, 2012June 26, 2012 Cameron D. Norman 709 Views complexity, contemplative inquiry, developmental design, developmental evaluation, mindfulness, mindset, perception, program planning, science, social innovation, time

These approaches combine inward reflection — reflective practice — with an openness to the data that comes in around them without imposing an order on it a priori. The orientation is to the data and the lessons that come from it rather than its directionality or imposing values on what the data might mean at the start. It means slowing down, contemplating things, and acting on reflection not reacting based on protocol. This is a fundamental shift for many of our activities, but may be the most necessary thing we can focus on if we are to have any hope of understanding, dealing with, and adapting to complexity.
All the methods and tools at our disposal will not help if we cannot change our mindset and orientation — even in the temporary — to this reality when looking at complexity in our work.

design health psychology

Contemplating Better Public Health: Perspective is Everything

May 31, 2012January 8, 2013 Cameron D. Norman 1325 Views cigarette use, contemplative inquiry, design, health promotion, mental health, mindfulness, perception, public health, Rory Sutherland, tobacco control

How might we apply the lessons from cigarette use to mental health promotion? How might we design programs, spaces, places, and social conventions that promote the quiet contemplative acts that come from taking that cigarette break and offer potentially great value to tobacco users without creating harmful effects for others?

Engaging design, complexity and imagining the systems that influence them both might yield considerable insight into how we manage other public health problems and how we might better promote mental health in the protection of physical well-being.