Comments on: we're all designers? nope. but perhaps a gradation of design thinkers… http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/ an exploration of moments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:03:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Jim Jacoby http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/comment-page-1/#comment-1134 Jim Jacoby Sat, 09 May 2009 22:06:17 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=166#comment-1134 thanks for the post. i understand where you're coming from. we'll have to parse terms to find common ground, i think. it's a hot topic, especially when we blur the terms at play. the goal here isn't to broadly establish that anyone can be a designer. rather, an organization can encourage, train, and act in design-minded ways. a designer in the narrow sense is called out by Marty Neumeier as a maker of things, which he indicates is too narrow a definition. his premise is to broaden the concept and highlight designful thinking. that isn't to say that anyone can be a 'designer'--a maker of things, if that's the term we land on--but an organization with the right processes, respect, and insights into each other's roles can achieve greater results if it is design-minded. applied indiscriminately, this turns into what i believe is feared between the lines of the post above. that is, everyone has an opinion and the fly-by, uninformed comment from an executive is exactly what we don't need in the process. however, if that executive were schooled in the ways of design, understood the nuances and process, and participated at the right times with the right mix of people, she could just as easily contribute to the design process. i believe this is the leadership we need in place for the businesses being built today. this is where companies like ideo and others get it right. they mix people from very diverse backgrounds and apply a design process that is proven to work. it forces the people within the process to be design minded... and ultimately brilliant things pop out. you then go off and make things... hopefully a prototype first... and you then have regular review and touch points with the right people, again, at the right times, so that the design process unfolds in a meaningful way. treating executives like professionals devoid of design understanding and who should only be taught to 'respect' the designers for the things they do but can't be understood is something that we have to leave behind, in my opinion. there are companies doing this successfully (as highlighted in the comments from the original citing). and it's my hope that we can learn from these and begin changing corporate cultures from respect across roles to perhaps shared 'majors' and 'minors.' imagine a designer with a minor in business and vice versa. we begin seeing new perspectives on old problems when we mix insights in new and surprising ways... debates leave the realm of polite respect and enter a new era of spirited equal discourse. thanks for the post. i understand where you’re coming from. we’ll have to parse terms to find common ground, i think. it’s a hot topic, especially when we blur the terms at play. the goal here isn’t to broadly establish that anyone can be a designer. rather, an organization can encourage, train, and act in design-minded ways. a designer in the narrow sense is called out by Marty Neumeier as a maker of things, which he indicates is too narrow a definition. his premise is to broaden the concept and highlight designful thinking. that isn’t to say that anyone can be a ‘designer’–a maker of things, if that’s the term we land on–but an organization with the right processes, respect, and insights into each other’s roles can achieve greater results if it is design-minded.

applied indiscriminately, this turns into what i believe is feared between the lines of the post above. that is, everyone has an opinion and the fly-by, uninformed comment from an executive is exactly what we don’t need in the process. however, if that executive were schooled in the ways of design, understood the nuances and process, and participated at the right times with the right mix of people, she could just as easily contribute to the design process. i believe this is the leadership we need in place for the businesses being built today.

this is where companies like ideo and others get it right. they mix people from very diverse backgrounds and apply a design process that is proven to work. it forces the people within the process to be design minded… and ultimately brilliant things pop out. you then go off and make things… hopefully a prototype first… and you then have regular review and touch points with the right people, again, at the right times, so that the design process unfolds in a meaningful way. treating executives like professionals devoid of design understanding and who should only be taught to ‘respect’ the designers for the things they do but can’t be understood is something that we have to leave behind, in my opinion.

there are companies doing this successfully (as highlighted in the comments from the original citing). and it’s my hope that we can learn from these and begin changing corporate cultures from respect across roles to perhaps shared ‘majors’ and ‘minors.’ imagine a designer with a minor in business and vice versa. we begin seeing new perspectives on old problems when we mix insights in new and surprising ways… debates leave the realm of polite respect and enter a new era of spirited equal discourse.

]]> By: Jim Jacoby http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/comment-page-1/#comment-2473 Jim Jacoby Sat, 09 May 2009 22:06:17 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=166#comment-2473 thanks for the post. i understand where you're coming from. we'll have to parse terms to find common ground, i think. it's a hot topic, especially when we blur the terms at play. the goal here isn't to broadly establish that anyone can be a designer. rather, an organization can encourage, train, and act in design-minded ways. a designer in the narrow sense is called out by Marty Neumeier as a maker of things, which he indicates is too narrow a definition. his premise is to broaden the concept and highlight designful thinking. that isn't to say that anyone can be a 'designer'--a maker of things, if that's the term we land on--but an organization with the right processes, respect, and insights into each other's roles can achieve greater results if it is design-minded. applied indiscriminately, this turns into what i believe is feared between the lines of the post above. that is, everyone has an opinion and the fly-by, uninformed comment from an executive is exactly what we don't need in the process. however, if that executive were schooled in the ways of design, understood the nuances and process, and participated at the right times with the right mix of people, she could just as easily contribute to the design process. i believe this is the leadership we need in place for the businesses being built today. this is where companies like ideo and others get it right. they mix people from very diverse backgrounds and apply a design process that is proven to work. it forces the people within the process to be design minded... and ultimately brilliant things pop out. you then go off and make things... hopefully a prototype first... and you then have regular review and touch points with the right people, again, at the right times, so that the design process unfolds in a meaningful way. treating executives like professionals devoid of design understanding and who should only be taught to 'respect' the designers for the things they do but can't be understood is something that we have to leave behind, in my opinion. there are companies doing this successfully (as highlighted in the comments from the original citing). and it's my hope that we can learn from these and begin changing corporate cultures from respect across roles to perhaps shared 'majors' and 'minors.' imagine a designer with a minor in business and vice versa. we begin seeing new perspectives on old problems when we mix insights in new and surprising ways... debates leave the realm of polite respect and enter a new era of spirited equal discourse. thanks for the post. i understand where you’re coming from. we’ll have to parse terms to find common ground, i think. it’s a hot topic, especially when we blur the terms at play. the goal here isn’t to broadly establish that anyone can be a designer. rather, an organization can encourage, train, and act in design-minded ways. a designer in the narrow sense is called out by Marty Neumeier as a maker of things, which he indicates is too narrow a definition. his premise is to broaden the concept and highlight designful thinking. that isn’t to say that anyone can be a ‘designer’–a maker of things, if that’s the term we land on–but an organization with the right processes, respect, and insights into each other’s roles can achieve greater results if it is design-minded.

applied indiscriminately, this turns into what i believe is feared between the lines of the post above. that is, everyone has an opinion and the fly-by, uninformed comment from an executive is exactly what we don’t need in the process. however, if that executive were schooled in the ways of design, understood the nuances and process, and participated at the right times with the right mix of people, she could just as easily contribute to the design process. i believe this is the leadership we need in place for the businesses being built today.

this is where companies like ideo and others get it right. they mix people from very diverse backgrounds and apply a design process that is proven to work. it forces the people within the process to be design minded… and ultimately brilliant things pop out. you then go off and make things… hopefully a prototype first… and you then have regular review and touch points with the right people, again, at the right times, so that the design process unfolds in a meaningful way. treating executives like professionals devoid of design understanding and who should only be taught to ‘respect’ the designers for the things they do but can’t be understood is something that we have to leave behind, in my opinion.

there are companies doing this successfully (as highlighted in the comments from the original citing). and it’s my hope that we can learn from these and begin changing corporate cultures from respect across roles to perhaps shared ‘majors’ and ‘minors.’ imagine a designer with a minor in business and vice versa. we begin seeing new perspectives on old problems when we mix insights in new and surprising ways… debates leave the realm of polite respect and enter a new era of spirited equal discourse.

]]> By: uxdesign.com http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/comment-page-1/#comment-1133 uxdesign.com Sat, 09 May 2009 17:00:59 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=166#comment-1133 That "anyone in the company can be a designer" is simply not so. Anyone can contribute, but design, like architecture or management or piano or basketball, takes PRACTICE. Designers learn and practice design, just as managers (should) learn and practice management. That the roles are interdependent does NOT make them interchangeable! Too many without training and sufficient experience practice design, digital or otherwise, *think* they are designers or usability experts already. Let's not make the situation worse, please! That said, the too oft' missing ingredient is professional respect for the designers craft, and management's ability to support the special collaboration between roles, to optimize strategy/design/tech. efforts. The soft skills, listening, communication, true collaboration, "design thinking" and such, are often the hardest. Let's not be lazy about them! That “anyone in the company can be a designer” is simply not so. Anyone can contribute, but design, like architecture or management or piano or basketball, takes PRACTICE. Designers learn and practice design, just as managers (should) learn and practice management. That the roles are interdependent does NOT make them interchangeable! Too many without training and sufficient experience practice design, digital or otherwise, *think* they are designers or usability experts already. Let’s not make the situation worse, please! That said, the too oft’ missing ingredient is professional respect for the designers craft, and management’s ability to support the special collaboration between roles, to optimize strategy/design/tech. efforts. The soft skills, listening, communication, true collaboration, “design thinking” and such, are often the hardest. Let’s not be lazy about them!

]]> By: uxdesign.com http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/comment-page-1/#comment-2472 uxdesign.com Sat, 09 May 2009 17:00:59 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=166#comment-2472 That "anyone in the company can be a designer" is simply not so. Anyone can contribute, but design, like architecture or management or piano or basketball, takes PRACTICE. Designers learn and practice design, just as managers (should) learn and practice management. That the roles are interdependent does NOT make them interchangeable! Too many without training and sufficient experience practice design, digital or otherwise, *think* they are designers or usability experts already. Let's not make the situation worse, please! That said, the too oft' missing ingredient is professional respect for the designers craft, and management's ability to support the special collaboration between roles, to optimize strategy/design/tech. efforts. The soft skills, listening, communication, true collaboration, "design thinking" and such, are often the hardest. Let's not be lazy about them! That “anyone in the company can be a designer” is simply not so. Anyone can contribute, but design, like architecture or management or piano or basketball, takes PRACTICE. Designers learn and practice design, just as managers (should) learn and practice management. That the roles are interdependent does NOT make them interchangeable! Too many without training and sufficient experience practice design, digital or otherwise, *think* they are designers or usability experts already. Let’s not make the situation worse, please! That said, the too oft’ missing ingredient is professional respect for the designers craft, and management’s ability to support the special collaboration between roles, to optimize strategy/design/tech. efforts. The soft skills, listening, communication, true collaboration, “design thinking” and such, are often the hardest. Let’s not be lazy about them!

]]> By: Jim Jacoby http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/comment-page-1/#comment-1067 Jim Jacoby Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:13:16 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=166#comment-1067 completely agree. i wouldn't pretend even try to split the hair of design thinking vs. sense. all words generally contrived by people trying to get a broader point across. that said, in general, 'designers' in my opinion do a variety of things different than, say, engineers or managers. they apply varying models to new situations to create entirely different outcomes. they work in spacial or virtual environments to connect with people in different ways. they create things to connect emotionally and or provoke an emotion. they reform things according to process, aesthetics, and human factors in order to make them 'work.' whatever the case, there's a process and a sensibility to be celebrated. that said, a company can't just go an label itself... to the point you're making. that just makes a bunch of managers or other 'suits' run around with opinions. i've witnessed executive creative directors with no sensitivity for process undermine entire teams of creatives because they think their executive opinion is 'creative' or 'pushing it.' it's not. it's just another jerk with an opinion. hence, our need to hold the line on real design, however the local group defines and defends it... and prove that it creates desired results. completely agree. i wouldn’t pretend even try to split the hair of design thinking vs. sense. all words generally contrived by people trying to get a broader point across. that said, in general, ‘designers’ in my opinion do a variety of things different than, say, engineers or managers. they apply varying models to new situations to create entirely different outcomes. they work in spacial or virtual environments to connect with people in different ways. they create things to connect emotionally and or provoke an emotion. they reform things according to process, aesthetics, and human factors in order to make them ‘work.’

whatever the case, there’s a process and a sensibility to be celebrated. that said, a company can’t just go an label itself… to the point you’re making. that just makes a bunch of managers or other ‘suits’ run around with opinions. i’ve witnessed executive creative directors with no sensitivity for process undermine entire teams of creatives because they think their executive opinion is ‘creative’ or ‘pushing it.’ it’s not. it’s just another jerk with an opinion.

hence, our need to hold the line on real design, however the local group defines and defends it… and prove that it creates desired results.

]]> By: Jim Jacoby http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/comment-page-1/#comment-2471 Jim Jacoby Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:13:16 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=166#comment-2471 completely agree. i wouldn't pretend even try to split the hair of design thinking vs. sense. all words generally contrived by people trying to get a broader point across. that said, in general, 'designers' in my opinion do a variety of things different than, say, engineers or managers. they apply varying models to new situations to create entirely different outcomes. they work in spacial or virtual environments to connect with people in different ways. they create things to connect emotionally and or provoke an emotion. they reform things according to process, aesthetics, and human factors in order to make them 'work.' whatever the case, there's a process and a sensibility to be celebrated. that said, a company can't just go an label itself... to the point you're making. that just makes a bunch of managers or other 'suits' run around with opinions. i've witnessed executive creative directors with no sensitivity for process undermine entire teams of creatives because they think their executive opinion is 'creative' or 'pushing it.' it's not. it's just another jerk with an opinion. hence, our need to hold the line on real design, however the local group defines and defends it... and prove that it creates desired results. completely agree. i wouldn’t pretend even try to split the hair of design thinking vs. sense. all words generally contrived by people trying to get a broader point across. that said, in general, ‘designers’ in my opinion do a variety of things different than, say, engineers or managers. they apply varying models to new situations to create entirely different outcomes. they work in spacial or virtual environments to connect with people in different ways. they create things to connect emotionally and or provoke an emotion. they reform things according to process, aesthetics, and human factors in order to make them ‘work.’

whatever the case, there’s a process and a sensibility to be celebrated. that said, a company can’t just go an label itself… to the point you’re making. that just makes a bunch of managers or other ‘suits’ run around with opinions. i’ve witnessed executive creative directors with no sensitivity for process undermine entire teams of creatives because they think their executive opinion is ‘creative’ or ‘pushing it.’ it’s not. it’s just another jerk with an opinion.

hence, our need to hold the line on real design, however the local group defines and defends it… and prove that it creates desired results.

]]> By: Kevin Panke http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/comment-page-1/#comment-1066 Kevin Panke Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:18:42 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=166#comment-1066 Jim, is design thinking replacing design sense? I personally feel we are all creative. But has soon as you label an individual or company as design thinkers, people start thinking they know design. That one little word changes everything. Jim, is design thinking replacing design sense? I personally feel we are all creative. But has soon as you label an individual or company as design thinkers, people start thinking they know design. That one little word changes everything.

]]> By: Kevin Panke http://everlastingnow.com/index.php/concepts/were-all-designers-nope-but-perhaps-a-gradation-of-design-thinkers/comment-page-1/#comment-2470 Kevin Panke Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:18:42 +0000 http://www.everlastingnow.com/?p=166#comment-2470 Jim, is design thinking replacing design sense? I personally feel we are all creative. But has soon as you label an individual or company as design thinkers, people start thinking they know design. That one little word changes everything. Jim, is design thinking replacing design sense? I personally feel we are all creative. But has soon as you label an individual or company as design thinkers, people start thinking they know design. That one little word changes everything.

]]>