Design Philosophy: Notice & Do
Seek to notice what needs to be done and have the initiative to follow through. The research phase of the design process is guided by the idea that we are here to notice. Keen attention to nuances paired with deducing appropriate interventions represents foundational elements of design.
As designers, we are trained and conditioned to notice. To observe the world around us and see what is happening. We are taught to critique. The initial phase of this is building your understanding and critical eye. It can be easy to get stuck in this stage. It can also make you seem knowledgeable. The folks doing the critiquing have a devil-may-care attitude.
It reminds me of this scene from Ted Lasso of Trent Crimm and Roy Kent.
”I thought I was being edgy, trying to make a name for myself.”
-Trent Crimm - The Independent
But the goal is to get past the noticing stage into the doing stage. Into the Arena, as Brené Brown says via Teddy Rosevelt. Get to the doing part.
Handing it over to Obama:
“The most important advice I give to young people is … just learn how to get stuff done,”
Obama
I love the doing aspect of design. The moment that boxes and words turn into pixels. This idea goes way beyond pixel-pushing. Designers notice the world around us in unique ways.
A few stories to illustrate the point.
Near a large conference room where we often had client visits, we had a shelving unit full of office supplies. Notebooks, pens, sticky notes, all the things you might need. On a hack-a-thon day, a designer decided to buy bins and organize that section so it was more presentable.
We had a junior designer join the team. Brand new, first design job for her. She instantly made the office better. If someone said they were locked out, she was the first to help. If lunch were being picked up, she would already be headed to meet the delivery. She seemed to have a sixth sense of knowing where she could help out around the office. This extended to her client interactions.
This extends beyond the role of a designer to the role of a citizen, friend, parent, and human. How do we notice the world around us and make it better? As we discussed, designers are trained to notice. We also have this underlying want to change the world. To shape the world. This can be a tricky, exhausting, discouraging effort to undertake. We can either dig in and try or numb ourselves and exist. We can bury our heads in the sand. We can ignore what we feel. Or we can do the hard work. We can leave the world better than what we found it. We can question existing paradigms.
Beware that if you do begin to question, you will become the weirdo. You will break away from the norm. You might not fit in, and you will make others uncomfortable. It will be uncomfortable.
It is good to be uncomfortable.