the designers/innovators real job
I have been in the design and innovation field for over 17 years, and the longer I stay in it, not only do I see dramatic changes in how we do things as ideamakers, but I see clearly (now more than ever) how our roles are being defined. Design in itself has been looked at for many years, post REAL DESIGN era, you know, when we were still designing railroads, airplanes and rocket ships, as the business of "making pretty things". It's not been until here recently that I am starting to feel the shift back to the "good ole" days when ideamakers really cared about making art, making life easier, or more "tolerable" INSTEAD of being focused solely on capitalism and industrialism to the point where everything remains "safe" and above all "profitable". Designers like Emily Pilloton at Project H Design ( http://projecthdesign.org ) have decided to change the game and they are getting BACK to the REAL jobs of Designers and Innovators - "Problem Solvers", "Challenge Eliminators" and "Concern Addressors". THIS is where I feel the business of ideamaking is going. We are in the midst of the Creation Economy, and as the "way makers" of tomorrow we have to really start thinking about the real deal... "Making a difference" .... It matters.


