I found this article to be insightful and inspiring.\u00a0It highlights the connection between our subjective (internal) states and the influence they have over our objective reality.<\/p>\n
‘Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by bad design\u200a\u2014\u200afrom airplane seats that distort our posture to aesthetically inelegant cars. Landscapes that were once green and blue are now paved over. Our surroundings are full of missed opportunities to introduce delight and joy into people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
Poorly designed things slow us down and make us unhappy\u200a\u2014\u200alike the ugly building in your neighborhood that makes you wince every time you see it, or the TV remote control with too many buttons, or the software that just won\u2019t work. These objects and experiences are outcomes of miscommunication, greed, lack of empathy, and lack of focus. Bad design is especially depressing given the price imposed on this planet. Sometimes it seems like we are filling the world with junk.<\/p>\n
As the technology industry matures, we have witnessed greater interest and investment in design. Companies now embrace the notion that design can be a competitive advantage that differentiates them from the competition. Our understanding of what \u201cdesign\u201d means has increasingly deepened over the years, moving beyond aesthetics and towards problem solving skills. For the last couple of decades in the software industry we claim a product is \u201cwell-designed\u201d when a product is considered useful, usable, and desirable. We can do better than that. We need to do better than that.<\/p>\n
What do I mean? Before we get too deep, let me give you some context by taking a step back to review for a moment the different levels at which design can be understood.<\/p>\n
Design = Form<\/strong> Design = Function<\/strong> Design = Brand<\/strong> Design = Experience<\/strong> Design Thinking = Problem solving<\/strong> The design thinking process<\/em> Design = Self<\/strong> Any creative endeavor is an expression of the human spirit.<\/em> When we create something, we create an outward expression of who we are, and the values and virtues that we have internalized. What we make embodies our values and virtues, and becomes a tangible expression of our Self.<\/p>\n As much as what we make embodies our Self, we pass on our attributes, vision, and intent to others when they consume what we make. Design is the culmination of intention, values, and principles manifested in tangible form and passed on to another.<\/em> Written by Irene Au I found this article to be insightful and inspiring.\u00a0It highlights the connection between our subjective (internal) states and the influence they have over our objective reality. ‘Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by bad design\u200a\u2014\u200afrom airplane seats that distort our …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":160,"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariapapas.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe most basic understanding of what design is typically relates to aesthetics. Universal principles of beauty, such as the Golden Ratio, Rule of Thirds, or principles of proximity, alignment, contrast, and repetition, inform our innate sense of whether something is beautiful or not. At this level of understanding of design, we think of design as the outward appearance of an object, such as whether a car looks fast or expensive.<\/p>\n
\nBut design is not just what an object looks like but also how it works.<\/em> We consider an object well-designed not only when it is beautiful but also useful and easy to use. Good design makes our lives easier, saves us time, and reduces cognitive load, which in turn reduces stress in our lives and preserves willpower and goodwill towards others.<\/p>\n
\nWhen a company consistently delivers an aesthetic and functional quality, design becomes the brand.<\/em> It becomes the vehicle by which companies create an emotional connection to their customers. Consumers choose to associate themselves with certain brands because the brands embody and represent values and ideals that appeal to them.<\/p>\n
\nTowards the late 90s, successful design meant orchestrating memorable events for customers, and that memory itself became the product\u200a\u2014\u200athe \u201cexperience\u201d<\/em>. Take dolls, for example. It\u2019s not just enough to buy a doll. In the experience economy, now you can design your own doll, customize it to look like you, give her a spa day, get her hair extensions. It\u2019s not just about buying a doll but creating an entire experience around acquiring and owning this doll. Design goes beyond the product and brand and encompasses the entire customer experience.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThe term \u201cdesign thinking\u201d was popularized by IDEO and Stanford University over the last 10 years. Design thinking refers to a set of cognitive processes directed toward problem solving. Different stages of the design thinking process includes defining the problem, building empathy for users, generating many ideas, prototyping possible solutions, gathering feedback, and iterating. With this understanding of design, design is about solving problems.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nDesign is a term that refers to what something or some service looks like, how it behaves, the emotions evoked when people interact with it, the experience one has when one interacts with it, and way of thinking and acting to solve problems. It is also a manifestation of the Self.<\/p>\n
\nWhat do we mean by the Self? A quick Google search comes up with this definition: \u201ca person\u2019s essential being that distinguishes them from others.<\/p>\n
\nDesign has the power to shape how we think and feel.’<\/p>\n
\nDesign Partner at Khosla Ventures; former head of design at Google, Yahoo, Udacity. Yoga teacher, author, speaker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"