Posts Tagged ‘Big Ideas’

Big Ideas: You’re not an expert.

On the Road in Hyderabad

During college I was a big believer in the place of social entrepreneurship and impact investing. I took a number of classes on the subject, where we spent our time working with groups like the Bryant Community Center to design solutions to problems like drainage, transportation, and after-school activities. I watched TED talks, read case studies, and generally soaked up as much of the culture as possible. I was the best example of a young, college-educated white male with a savior complex. I was arrogant and probably annoyed a lot of people in the process. But, it took a summer internship in India to really set my mind straight on my place as a designer who wanted to do social good.

Big Idea Saturdays: Design is a Process

3-Design is a Process

I think the most common question I get asked is “What do you do?” A rather good question, in fact. Often design is defined by its outputs: things like products, furniture, logos, or websites. There are certainly designers who specialize in particular outputs, so it becomes easy to think of design as a field that Read More

Big Idea Saturdays: Design With (Not For) Your Users

#2 Design With (Not For) Your Users

We so often assume that we are always designing in the best interest of our users; we are being objective and thoughtful in our decisions. But unlike the scientific process, the design process is very much subjective. We pick our hypotheses, and we personally choose what observations are important, each stroke of the pen on Read More