Wanderlust and Words

“Our personal design sense and acuity is on display every day in our presentations, our documents, our meetings, our e-mails, and in the way we think and express our ideas,” says Garr Reynolds , author of Presentation Zen and Presentation Zen Design . Design matters. Well-designed objects not only look good, but they work better, and people have a positive emotional response. “People make instant judgments about whether something is attractive, trustworthy, professional, too slick, and so on. This is a visceral reaction – and it matters.” The first chapter of Presentation Zen Design talks about type or font, something we often take for granted. Reynolds repeats two of his key messages: Avoid Clutter and Create Harmony . Those messages really hit home for me when I was reading an online publication. The unusual use of capitals and the combination of three or four different fonts was annoying. Rather than enhancing the content, it distracted my attention and interrupted the flow. I...

Saskatoon got hit by a major winter storm this weekend. The streets are blocked with snow, and the buses aren't running. People are driving their cars, but you can expect to get stuck or have difficulties if you try to stop or turn or pass another vehicle. And it really doesn't affect me. Because I don't have a carcentric lifestyle. I can walk to the grocery store, walk to the offices where I work, even walk to the library or the coffee shop. I'm sure that a great many people are grumbling and complaining that the City isn't clearing the streets fast enough. But what do we expect? Human beings have tried to impose their structure and rules in creating an urban environment. But, when push comes to shove, nature is far more powerful than we are. When will we learn that we have no choice but to live in harmony with nature? And, yes, I'm fully aware that I am not living off the grid. If the power had gone out, I'd have been in trouble. Photo courtesy o...

One of the challenges I’ve had with several of my contracts is obtaining feedback on a draft document. The client wants to approve an early version of the final product, while I’m looking for discussion and collaboration. Design thinking provides some solutions. Design thinkers approach a project (i.e. designing a chair) as “thousands of interlocking decisions. Collectively, all of these questions together are too big to digest, so the designer leaps headlong into the process and begins creating. First, she looks for inspiration, collecting ideas and expressions that help her think. Designers use art, metaphors, analogies and other elements to provoke inspiration around form, function, feel, and experience. Through this process they are breaking the decision down while simultaneously giving themselves new options. Very soon, the designer will begin to create prototypes to understand how certain parts of the chair will work, what it will feel like, and how it will look. Through e...

I am feeling really pumped today because I’ve received four new contracts in the past week. And some of them are really exciting ones that will not only take advantage of current skills but also push me to develop new knowledge and expertise. Freelancing is forcing me to believe in myself and to put myself forward. There are no fallback positions. If I don’t get out there and promote myself, I won’t make any money. It’s a multi-faceted process. I have to clearly identify my skills and interests in my own mind. Then I have to work out ways to tell people about my skills and emphasize ways in which I can help them to succeed. And once I get a contract, I have to sit down and actually do the work – even if it takes me outside my comfort zone. I have to be prepared to invest in myself by buying books or taking courses. I can’t rely on other people’s judgment of my abilities. I have to be persistently optimistic, always reaching for the stars. There is no steady pay cheque, no statutory ...

In the past, designers focused their attention on designing objects. They came up with clever new designs for cars or furniture or handbags, but they rarely addressed every day problems and needs. The situation is changing as organizations are starting to apply design principles to business and social problems. The Innovation Gap One of the principle goals of design thinking is to bridge the gap between our knowledge of how to make things and our knowledge of what people want. Design thinking is people-centered as it studies how people live and use objects. OXO Good Grips spent years watching people working in the kitchen in order to design a vegetable peeler that would be easy for people with arthritis to use. They now produce a whole range of tools and utensils. Design Like You Give a Damn Designers are also turning their attention to social problems. Architecture for Humanity's goal is to build a more sustainable future through the power of professional design . They wo...

Here is the link to a very funny 40-minute video of a speech by Don Watson on the absurdity of business language jargon. Don Watson is an Australian who has written Death Sentence: The Decay of Public Language and Gobbledygook . In his speech, he points out the absurdity of corporate speak giving as examples “adverse patient outcome” (they died) and “historically dry circumstance” (drought). What is the purpose and actual meaning of mission statements? Do we really want to “delight our customers”? Is it realistic to expect finance department officials to be “agile and passionate”? Does a grade 2 classroom really need a mission statement? And if it does, do we really want to encourage 7 year olds to be risk takers - in the playground perhaps? Watson responds to a letter addressed to “Dear Valued Customer” by writing “Dear Bureaucrat.” He also suggests testing your wording by pretending you are writing to your mother – you would never write “Dear Valued Mother.” The example...

Ron Ashkenas wrote an interesting article for the Harvard Business Review. He recommends firing yourself from your job, re-evaluating the job requirements and deciding what you would do if you were coming into the job fresh. “First, take a deep breath and fire yourself. That's right — take yourself out of your job so that you'll get some distance from it. Second, consider what you would do to reapply for your job. What are your qualifications? What would you say in an interview about the changes you would make and the improvements you would engineer? What unique "stamp" would you put on this new job? How do you feel about the business strategy and the quality of the leadership team? What would you change?” The holidays have given me the opportunity to sit back and assess not only how I am building my freelance business but also how I am choosing to live my life, and I’m going to try and refocus my energy in the new year. Flexibility I’ve realized that althoug...