just because you can, does not mean you should
Early on in my design career, when I worked primarily in graphic design, I can clearly remember my design mentor telling me that "design is indeed, communication" and I can also remember him stressing the importance of simplicity in design. This stuck with me.
With the advent of computer aided design, and all of the incredible software that came along with it, designers were given a great deal of power over the art they were creating. With literally hundreds of filters and effects, almost anything became possible. This was both good and bad.
The Good
With computer aided design we are able to extend the range of our communications (design) in ways that we would never have been able to do with the foundational ways that we created art in the past... This is GOOD.The Bad
Along with computer aided design, came the loss of design discipline, AND THIS is what this post is really all about..."Just because you can, does not mean you should..."
Keep your design clean and clear, communicate well. In some instances, the robust capabilities of computer aided design can come in really handy, however; when trying to get a clear message across, always think "simplicity". The value of the art does NOT increase with the addition of artifacts that have no real meaning to the art. The TRUE value comes from the clarity of the message.
general motors: augmented reality windshield
a good ideamaker, designer is a good listener. period.
I was listening to, and watching a video by one of the greatest Thought Leaders I know... Tom Peters ( http://tompeters.com ) today. He recently crafted an idea called "Little Big Things"... a book of 163 secrets that can transform your business. On Tom Peters YouTube channel Little Big Things ( http://youtube.com/user/LittleBigThings ), Tom Peters has a series of video's that pull relevance from his recent artwork and hands them to you, WITH a napkin.
As I chewed on one of the video's: Leadership Thoughts: Listening, I was able to quickly see a key ingredient that every Design Thinker, Ideamaker needs to have in his or her arsenal...
Strategic Listening.
I honestly feel that "Strategic Listening" could make the difference between an incredible piece of art, OR a REMARKABLE one... You decide. Let me know what YOU think....
Tom PetersLeadership Thoughts: Listening
chad mcmillan: why do i do what i do
In this insightful and light read, Chad McMillian, Creative Director at Showcase Marketing challenges you to think about why you do what you do... Powerful!!
http://www.createlaunchlead.com/why-do-i-do-what-i-do/
the creative shift: disruptive talent
As we move deeper into what is now being called the "creative economy", the creative industry as a whole, from graphic design, interaction, and experience to ideation, the fine arts, anthropology, and various other creative fields are undergoing a major shift. The shift primarily in HOW we look at the creative fields, their roles within business and life in general is causing a major "re-direction" in the lives of those who are active participants in the evolving space.
From Marty Neumeir - the Director of Transformation at Liquid, the west coast brand marketing agency, to the revelation of Chris Hacker - the Chief Design Officer at Johnson & Johnson, we are seeing a fresh new class of creative professional being birthed into the marketplace. In many cases, these creative giants are multi-disciplinary, and not only bring the "hands-on" "know how" of their craft(s) to the table; BUT they also bring a clear understanding of the "undercurrent" of what they do... Design Thinking.
Design Thinking, one of the most critical components of the design process, is now, finally becoming a valued commodity, and rightfully so, it should have been one long, long ago, however; the rage of the industrial age, where "produce more", and "think less" (mousetrap mentality) ranked king, and authentic "thinking" was viewed as no more than just a system of following past success, "re-skinning" that success, and "re-presenting" this success to the marketplace.
Same idea... Face-lift.
This was and IS a broken way of doing things, and WE are starting to realize it. Tim Brown, the Chief Thinker at IDEO the global design and innovation consultancy wrote a book called "Change by Design", which has helped the design community re-think it's value proposition, again, putting "design thinking" in the forefront.
So while what has, and is being done in the creative field is shifting to a bigger, more vibrant scope, the talent within the space is changing as well. In an essay that I wrote (that started as a book) called: "Disruption: How to BUrn The Corporate Ladder", I introduce a concept that I call "Disruptive Talent"; individuals with unique skill set's that have been refined over periods of time and developed according to market demand. For instance, the graphic designer, that now works on the web, doubles as a programmer. OR the experience designer who has played a major role in management and is now in the role of CDO (Chief Design Officer). The meshing of unique abilities formed in the marketplace (not necessarily the classroom) and deployed within the organization for one reason...
Change.
thanks
When I started Beyond Pretty Things™ just a few months ago, I set out with the idea of creating a "light hearted", "easy to follow" blog, that anyone could read, no matter what background they have, and get a good understanding of the field of design (the field I am sooo passionate about), innovation and what I like to call "rocket ships" - sparks of genius, great ideas, insights that change the world as we see it. With a simple manifesto ...
Beyond Pretty Things™, a blog about design, innovation & rocket ships, explores design beyond the aesthetics and the "things" that designers create, and takes a closer look at design thinking, the genius behind soulful innovation.
norio fujikawa: kanibot
Designer: Norio Fujikawa
Complete Project: http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Kanibot/446819
out the box: the new dork
there is bad design everywhere
There is bad design everywhere. I know this is a pretty bold statement, BUT it's true. There are poorly designed customer service experiences, horribly designed signage experiences, and if I sat long enough, and had enough patience, I could probably rattle off about 100 other EXPERIENCES that are poorly designed. And if I am honest with YOU and MYSELF, I would have to admit that all of the BAD DESIGN is not 100% of the design stakeholders fault. IN fact, I would have to say that about 80% of the BAD DESIGN that we engage is the fault of the Designers.
Where We Miss It... Sometimes.
For a long time (real long time) Designers have been charged with making things pretty and not held responsible (at all) for experiences. We are not held responsible for insuring the experience associated with the "pretty thing" lines up with the really good looks. This is a broken practice. Over the last few years we have seen a surge in Experience Designers and Interaction Designers for this very reason. The Experience Designers and Interaction Designers are the insurance policy (or should be the insurance policy) that not only does a thing "shine well" on the surface, BUT it also "shines within" as it pertains to the experience...
Closing thoughts -
Start thinking about experiences. Start giving a damn about how people engage your designs rather you are the stakeholder OR the designer, we are all responsible (HELD RESPONSIBLE) for not only making things "pretty" BUT we are responsible for making them "make sense"...





