Wicked problems. Also known as "the things that seem too big for us to solve." I stumbled across this old Adidas ad campaign and have adapted it to craft a contractual agreement with said problems. It isn't comprehensive but offers a helpful icon when I consider how my creative thinking process permits the "willing suspension of disbelief" in order to face something that seems too big or impossible. Thanks to Twitter feeds, I came across this 1992 article by a great writer and design thinker, Richard Buchanan:
To gain some idea of how extensively design affects contemporary life, consider the four broad areas in which design is explored throughout the world by professional designers and by many others who may not regard themselves as designers:

1) the design of symbolic and visual communications

2) the design of material objects

3) the design of activities and organized services, which includes the traditional management concern for logistics, combining physical resources, instrumentalities, and human beings in efficient sequences and schedules to reach specified objectives

4) the design of complex systems or environments for living, working, playing, and learning. This includes the traditional concerns of systems engineering, architecture, and urban planning or the functional analysis of the parts of complex wholes and their subsequent integration in hierarchies.

Reflecting on this list of the areas of design thinking, it is tempting to identify and limit specific design professions within each area - graphic designers with communication, industrial designers and engineers with material objects, designers-cum-managers with activities and services, and architects and urban planners with systems and environments. But this would not be adequate, because these areas are not simply categories of objects that reflect the results of design. Properly understood and used, they are also places of invention shared by all designers, places where one discovers the dimensions of design thinking by a reconsideration of problems and solutions.

Buchanan's work reminds me that "design thinking" isn't a buzzword. And it's exciting to see these programs emerge to create an educational outlet for developing these ideas further (as my educational experience didn't include this type of conversation):
Parsons
Austin Center for Design

Nobody has the answers.
Nobody is listening to you.  
Nobody is looking out for your interests.
Nobody will lower your taxes.
Nobody will fix the education system.
Nobody knows what he is doing in Washington.
Nobody will make us energy independent.
Nobody will cut government waste.
Nobody will clean up the environment.
Nobody will protect us against terrorist threats.
Nobody will tell the truth.
Nobody will avoid conflicts of interest.
Nobody will restore ethical behavior to the White House.
Nobody will get us out of Afghanistan.
Nobody understands farm subsidies.
Nobody will spend your tax dollars wisely.
Nobody feels your pain.
Nobody wants to give peace a chance.
Nobody predicted the Iraq War would be a disaster.
Nobody expected the levees to fail.
Nobody warned that the housing bubble would collapse.
Nobody will reform Wall Street.
Nobody will stand up for what’s right.
Nobody will be your voice.
Nobody will tell you what the others won’t.
Nobody has a handle on this.
 
Nobody, but you, that is.
 
Never forget, a small group of people can change the
world.
 
No one else ever has.

by Micah Sifry
excerpt from What Matters Now

I'm teaching the last six weeks of a course called, Designing With Image and Time and I've asked the students to work with various films as part of their learning process. One of the options included The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara. As I re-watched it, I couldn't help reflecting on the idea that these lessons could be applied anywhere, even in design. Would you agree? Watch the film and get back to me.

1. Empathize with your enemy the client/user you don't understand
2. Rationality will not save us
3. There's something beyond one's self
4. Maximize efficiency
5. Proportionality should be a guideline in war design
6. Get the data
7. Belief and seeing are often both wrong
8. Be prepared to re-examine your reasoning
9. In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil something you didn't expect
10. Never say never
11. You can't change human nature

I think this might just say it all. via H34DUP

If Danish designers can do it, why can't we? I appreciate this document for the way it:

1) advocates a collective voice
2) provides objectives and recommendations
3) postures what design can do, rather than what design is
4) determines that design is for people and the planet
5) encourages cross-disciplinary support

And then some.

While manifestos often have a way of making a declaration without encouraging action, I read this document and feel like it gives me language to dialogue about the role of design at this time in history (and makes it accessible by collecting it into one document). Also notable? When I got the email inviting me to read this , it included this phrase at the end (from Pernille Grønbech, President of Danish Designers): We appreciate any comments. Feedback on how these ideas actually translate? What a concept.

I have the physical cards already but an iPhone app (for travel and the like) is just what this designer needed. What I appreciate about both versions? The special note to respect your participants:

• Approach people with courtesy  
• Identify yourself, your intent, and what you are looking for  
• Offer to compensate participants 
• Describe how you will use this information and why it's valuable
• Get permission to use the information and any photos or videos you take
• Keep all the information you gather confidential
• Let people know they can decline to answer questions or stop participating at any time 
• Maintain a nonjudgmental, relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere

It's time to be a entrepreneur
A few weeks ago I attended the Graphex 2010 Judges Night. A diverse and talented group (Mark Randall, Louise Fili, Julia Hoffmann, Matt Warburton and Rolando Diep) presented their work and ideas about design over the course of the evening. And as I listened during the Q&A time and had conversations with various colleagues, I realized that the diversity of the judges equaled the diversity of thought around the role of visual communication.

From a small studio to the large corporate giant, one has the potential to embrace craft and/or commerce. Whatever side you lean toward, the point is to make information accessible to others. But if it doesn't win an award, how do we measure the value of communication design?

If you check out who I follow on Twitter, you'll notice I'm as intrigued by letterforms as I am lifesaving tools for someone in Los Angeles or Liberia. Because there is such diversity in how design is valued or measured, I'm suggesting that perhaps we now live in a time where we need a new title for the role that a communication designer (or any designer, for that matter) plays in culture (especially those who may never show his or her work at a design award event).

I'm opting to use the title "design entrepreneur" because this seems to help me frame the current state: consider what is needed in the future, act on what the system can handle now and do both all the while knowing that you're going to assume responsibility for the risks involved. According to research, it seems there are some are up for this challenge - and I'd say, it's come at just the right time. While it may not win an award, it could affect the way society functions (and I think Paula Scher might agree?). Some are even willing to fund it: Be Unreasonable.

The last time you made something, did you ask 78 questions about it? With that many to go through, one can't help but pause and consider the impacts of design.

78 Reasonable Questions to Ask about Any Design
by Stephanie Mills

Ecological
1. What are its effects on the health of the planet and of the person?
2. Does it preserve or destroy biodiversity?
3. Does it preserve or reduce ecosystem integrity?
4. What are its effects on the land?
5. What are its effects on wildlife?
6. How much and what kind of waste does it generate?
7. Does it incorporate the principles of ecological design?
8. Does it break the bond of renewal between humans and nature?
9. Does it preserve or reduce cultural biodiversity?
10. What is the totality of its effects - it's "ecology"?

Social
11. Does it serve community?
12. Does it empower community members?
13. How does it affect our perception of our needs?
14. Is it consistent with the creation of a communal, human economy?
15. What are its effects on relationships?
16. Does it undermine conviviality?
17. Does it undermine traditional forms of community?
18. How does it affect our way of seeing and experiencing the world?
19. Does it foster a diversity of forms of knowledge?
20. Does it build on, or contribute to, the renewal of traditional forms of knowledge?
21. Does it serve to commodify knowledge or relationships?
22. To what extent does it redefine reality?
23. Does it to raise a sense of time and history?
24. What is its potential to become addictive?

Moral
25. What values does its use foster?
26. What is gained by its use?
27. What are its effects beyond its ability to the individual?
28. What is lost in using it?
29. What are its effects on the least person in the society?

Aesthetic
30. Is it ugly?
31. Does cause ugliness?
32. What noise does it make?
33. What pace does it set?
34. How does it affect quality of life (as distinct from standard of living)?

Practical
35. What does it make?
36. Who does it benefit?
37. What is its purpose?
38. Where was produced?
39. Where is it used?
40. Where must go when it's broken or obsolete?
41. How expensive is it?
42. Can it be repaired? By an ordinary person?
43. What is the entirety of its cost-the full cost accounting?

Ethical
44. How complicated is it?
45. What does it allow us to ignore?
46. To what extent does it distance agents from effect?
47. Can we assume personal, or communal, responsibility for its effects?
48. Can its effects be directly apprehended?
49. What ancillary technologies does it require?
50. What behavior might it make possible in the future?
51. What other technologies might it make possible?
52. Does it alter our sense of time and relationships in ways conducive to nihilism?

Vocational
53. What is its impact on craft?
54. Does it reduce, deaden, or enhance human creativity?
55. Is it the least imposing technology available for the task?
56. Does it replace, or does it aid, human hands and human beings?
57. Can it be responsive to organic circumstance?
58. Does it depress or enhance the quality of goods?
59. Does it depress or enhance the meaning of work?

Political
60. What is its mystique?
61. Does it concentrate or equalize power?
62. Does it require, or institute, a knowledge elite?
63. Is it totalitarian?
64. Does it require a bureaucracy for its perpetuation?
65. What legal empowerments does it require?
66. Does it undermine traditional moral authority?
67. Does it require military defense?
68. Does it enhance, or serve, military purposes?
69. How does it affect warfare?
70. Does it foster a mass thinking or behavior?
71. Is it consistent with the creation of global economy?
72. Does it empower transnational corporations?
73. What kind of capital does it require?

Metaphysical
74. What aspect of the inner self does it reflect?
75. Does it express love?
76. Does it express rage?
77. What aspect of our past does it reflect?
78. Does it reflect cynical or linear thinking?

Image source: askascientist.org

The Pie Lab isn't a new concept but another reminder of how people are continuing to dialogue through design.

Another round of introductory typography means another set of journals. This class did not disappoint with their varied explorations (from hand-rendered, to stitched or embossed and collages). It's always delightful to see people come to a new understanding of and appreciation for effective communication. But I also just love the way it let's them explore their own creativity.

In case you've been hiding under a rock (or living on another continent): The iPad is here!

All jokes aside about its less-than-ideal name, it seems to offer some amazing experiences for users and developers. As someone who cherishes her iMac and iPhone, I'm a truly committed convert and I can't imagine working with any another brand. So I feel like a fair weather friend by posting this.

But as I watched the launch presentation, all I could think was, "How will this be applied to those who fall outside of Apple's borders?" Is the iPad only usable for those who can iAfford it? It's been positioned as a very accessible tool (compared to other products) but is it affordable enough? As I listened to everyone talk, I heard about social media, photos, emails, presentations and games. I heard from developers and how they can benefit from the software development kit for the device.

But if you are going to brag about your billions, then wouldn't it be amazing if your next announcement included a story about how this tool could actually improve things beyond gaming and graphics? What about innovations in health and economic development that can help the billions living on less than $2/day? The type of interface that the iPad offers, could be an amazing way to empower those who may not have access to information or the level of literacy that would enable them to engage effectively. I'm sure it all sounds very Pollyanna-ish, but shouldn't a global brand be truly global?

Ironically, when I travelled to Rwanda back in 2008, I contacted Apple and asked for the donation of one laptop. I had aspirations to offer design training to university students who were focused on education, technology and agriculture. In the end, I never heard from Apple. Looking back, it might have been for the better. Because you see, Apple support wasn't available in Rwanda. And this reality may be why my post is moot.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a designer. I got invigorated by everything that was shared at the launch. Apple products are smart, beautiful and intuitive. They value typography and graphics in ways others have yet to demonstrate. And this is why I would love to see these tools made available to those who may not yet know how this accessible tool could offer even more accessibility.

With all of this technological advancement, will the iPad only benefit the 10% who can access it?

This project demonstrates how a dialogue through design can be generated creatively. Young minds being invited to imagine and fashion the potential of the future in a shoe box. Brilliant.
(and the fact that it was made possible by one of our Canadians is an added bonus)

I respect the way Bill Easterly challenges our assumptions about aid and agree with him when he (surprisingly) writes that we should look harder for dialogue before the satire starts. Face-to-face conversations about what isn't working might provide us a means to "walk a mile in another man's shoes" and in so doing, help us collectively reduce our oversights.

I hold a certain measure of interest in the way a city operates and could likely offer my two cents about how I imagine it could be enhanced (systems junkie that I am). But since I don't have any formal training in urban planning, I wouldn't want to presume that my thoughts are the best for everyone. Ironically, Jane Jacobs didn't have any training either. But her contribution to the way we now view the public sphere is significant, so I turn to her as part of my research for Dinner With A Side Of Design. What I appreciate about her approach is that she doesn't focus on the utopia at the end of the rainbow but rather pursues an honest embrace of what the city already is and designs within it:

Cities as Ecosystems
Jacobs approached cities as living beings and ecosystems. She suggested that over time, buildings, streets and neighborhoods function as dynamic organisms, changing in response to how people interact with them. She explained how each element of a city - sidewalks, parks, neighborhoods, government, economy – functions together synergistically, in the same manner as the natural ecosystem. This understanding helps us discern how cities work, how they break down, and how they could be better structured.

Mixed-Use Development
Jacobs advocated for "mixed-use" urban development – the integration of different building types and uses, whether residential or commercial, old or new. According to this idea, cities depend on a diversity of buildings, residences, businesses and other non-residential uses, as well as people of different ages using areas at different times of day, to create community vitality. She saw cities as being "organic, spontaneous, and untidy," and views the intermingling of city uses and users as crucial to economic and urban development.

Bottom-Up Community Planning
Jacobs contested the traditional planning approach that relies on the judgment of outside experts, proposing that local expertise is better suited to guiding community development. She based her writing on empirical experience and observation, noting how the prescribed government policies for planning and development are usually inconsistent with the real-life functioning of city neighborhoods.

The Case for Higher Density
Although orthodox planning theory had blamed high density for crime, filth, and a host of other problems, Jacobs disproved these assumptions and demonstrated how a high concentration of people is vital for city life, economic growth, and prosperity. While acknowledging that density alone does not produce healthy communities, she illustrated through concrete examples how higher densities yield a critical mass of people that is capable of supporting more vibrant communities. In exposing the difference between high density and overcrowding, Jacobs dispelled many myths about high concentrations of people.

content: Project For Public Spaces
image: Ken Fallin

In my ongoing research, I came across this beautiful work by Elise Rijnberg. The pattern is made with subtle embroidery and meant to educate on the western traditions of dining.

I'm leading seminars with design students for an Ecological Perspectives course. Last week, we tried to answer these questions. It's amazing (and embarrassing) how disconnected I am from the environment I live in. How many of these can you answer for your region?

Where Are You At? A Bioregional Quiz
Developed by Leonard Charles, Jim Dodge,Lynn Milliman and Victoria Stockley. Coevolution Quarterly 32 (Winter 1981): 1.

1. Trace the water you drink from precipitation to tap.
2. How many days til the moon is full? (Slack of 2 days allowed.)
3. What soil series are you standing on?
4. What was the total rainfall in your area last year (July-June)? (Slack: 1 inch for every 20 inches.)
5. When was the last time a fire burned in your area?
6. What were the primary subsistence techniques of the culture that lived in your area before you?
7. Name 5 edible plants in your region and their season(s) of availability.
8. From what direction do winter storms generally come in your region?
9. Where does your garbage go? What do you think will happen to all the garbage generated by the Olympics?
10. How long is the growing season where you live?
11. On what day of the year are the shadows the shortest where you live?
12. When do the deer rut in your region, and when are the young born?
13. Name five grasses in your area. Are any of them native?
14. Name five resident and five migratory birds in your area.
15. What is the land use history of where you live?
16. What primary ecological event/process influenced the landform where you live? (Bonus special: what’s the evidence?)
17. What species have become extinct in your area?
18. What are the major plant associations in your region?
19. From where you’re reading this, point north.
20. What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom where you live?

Reading Robert Bringhurst's words about typography could be compared to savoring a glass of fine wine: the notes are layered so you don't want to rush it.

"Letters are microscopic works of art as well as useful symbols. They mean what they are as well as what they say. Typography is the art and craft of handling these doubly meaningful bits of information. A good typographer handles them in intelligent, coherent, sensitive ways."

"Typography is to literature as musical performance is to composition: an essential act of interpretation, full of endless opportunities for insight or obtuseness."

The pictures above show:
1) some student work after only one class of introductory typography
2) a graphic designer in rural Africa

Every time I sit down to prepare for this course, I am reminded of the complexity of language. I'm sure I could write a diatribe on the topic. From being in Rwanda (where I didn't speak the language I needed) to being in Canada (where I aim to teach students how to use the language they know), I am amazed by the common challenge we face: to make and show the meaning of our words.

In the process of planning for this event, I wanted to test out some ideas with a few friends: What would it look like to have an interactive and topic-focused dinner? If nothing else, I could find out what it might be like to eat, drink and write at the same time!

So last night, I got together with a web designer, a student/adventurer, a nurse, a writer and a retired finance and accounting director. The image above indicates how they would describe what they do (and was situated as an activity after the first sip of wine).

Over the course of the meal (which included a smattering of amazing food we all created to share: mushroom caps filled with crab and cheese, honey roasted root vegetables, deep fried prawns, guacamole, bruschetta and a rosemary potato radish salad), we talked a lot about economics and politics. In light of my ongoing interest in these ideas and how they impact design, I found the discussion helpful. Here's a few topics that surfaced from this diverse group:

1. Design is often perceived as exotic, expensive and exclusive.
2. China operates like many designers. In other words, "What will things look like in five years and how do we plan for that?"
3. To make an energy efficient car like the Prius, you need about 13 rare earth minerals. 93% of these minerals come from China.
4. Geopolitical events may have a significant influence on career and investment decisions. So never underestimate the value of due diligence.
5. Change happens one person at a time. Unless you live in a dictatorship.

Clearly, we covered a lot of ground. And while this was informal in its approach, I learned much from focusing my attention on a topic that can sometimes seem to big to tackle. I also appreciated how the experience offered me insight into a) creating spaces for conversation and b) a means to visualize that conversation. I am continually writing or sketching because this activity helps me internalize the ideas that are being exchanged. But I am reminded that not everyone operates this way! Because of this, I'm cued to consider how to create something accessible to allow others to share their ideas in alternative and creative ways.

Learning #8: When it gets hard, you might just need to wait.

While in Rwanda, the power would often go out, the internet was as slow as molasses and sometimes our food order would take 30 minutes to arrive. Often, I would react as though these were incredibly hard things. Pauvre moi!

With issues of greater complexity, I have learned that patience is truly a virtue. And that in the waiting times, you can often see and learn things that you might have missed while you were rushing. This isn't to say that all hard equates to waiting (the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti aren't too keen to wait for help). But as I assess my own learning (and realize my own impatience), I have learned that waiting to say something or do something might actually serve me well. I'm not necessarily good at it but hope to gain wisdom in this as I go. When I think about it in design, I realize that it isn't always promoted. Deadlines and projects await you so "hard" becomes part of the game. But in watching ideas emerge from something like Slow Design, I can see that perhaps even in the intensity of it all, there might just be room for and value in waiting.

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Learning #12: To whom much is given, much will be required.
Working on projects over the past year, I have come to realize how lucky I am to have skills, knowledge, access, freedom, friends, safety, shelter and food. I happen to live in a location that makes these things seemingly easy to possess. For me, having these things doesn't mean I can sit back and relax. Having them reminds me how sharing them will actually enrich my life.

The experience of having a young Rwandan student ask me if I could teach her Illustrator so she could make things on her own was a notable moment (she saw this image on my desktop and asked, "Can I make something like that?"). Due to her busy schedule we weren't able to pursue these lessons as hoped. But this desire acts as a reminder of how my "much" requires me to respond to those with "less much." This isn't an act of charity but rather one of being open with what you possess. Be it design training or daily needs, I have learned that sharing must be part of my life and work (even if it costs me).

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Learning #9: Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone.
I don't know that this requires any further explanation?
As I've contemplated this learning, it seems best to visualize it. Which means, I'm not going to say anything else. And leave well enough alone.

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Learning #3: Just because we speak the same language, doesn't mean we understand each other.

"...dialogue characterizes an epistemological relationship. Thus, in this sense, dialogue is a way of knowing...I engage in dialogue because I recognize the social and not merely the individualistic character of the process of knowing. In this sense, dialogue presents itself as an indispensable component of the process of both learning and knowing." (Paulo Freire)

As I reflect on my work in a cross-cultural context, I realize how much complication can arise from the lack of a shared language. Getting on the wrong bus, saying the wrong thing in a meeting and ordering the wrong food are but a few examples. But back in my own city, where I am able to do most of these things, I think I can take the shared language notion for granted. It may allow you to get where you want to go but it doesn't guarantee you'll really know or learn. In looking ahead, I hope to continue to work on projects that require cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary teams because I find that these experiences help equip me to avoid the perils of assumption.

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Learning #2: Just because it's old, doesn't mean it's broken.

DIY is a the mantra of the day. Last year, I wore rain boots I found in the dumpster and revisited my mother's wardrobe from the 60s to acquire a few new outfits. To highlight this learning, I've listed a few people and places that have helped me sort out my new love and appreciation of the old(er) in the midst of a discipline that often praises the new:
The Amish
Readymade Magazine
The weavers of Gashora and a designer from Kibungo
Maker Faire
Instructables
Craigslist
Rural Studio
Cut/Copy/Paste Exhibition

I am still sorting the economics of these ideas and how they get sustained in an age of innovation. But I love how this shift has affected my process and thinking.
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image source: Cut/Paste at the Royal Ontario Museum (Random related note? I actually inherited a cigarette case just like this one)

Learning #4: Don't underestimate the ingenuity of others.
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By now, most people are familiar with William Kamkwamba. His story reminds me of a book that has shaped my thoughts on how to embrace the ingenuity of individuals who are often perceived as those who "need saving." Pedagogy of the Oppressed, hosts a number of powerful and thought-provoking quotes. While seemingly focused on education, it speaks to a much broader conversation about how we can sometimes overlook the values and insights of those who are in a lower economic or oppressed situation because we think they need to be removed from this place. William's windmill story reminds me that things can shift because of personal ingenuity. By reading a book about energy at 14 years of age, William's world view was enhanced and he saw himself as part of the solution.

"...every human being, no matter how "ignorant" or submerged in the "culture of silence" he or she may be, is capable of looking critically at the world in a dialogical encounter with others. Provided the proper tools for such encounter, the individual can gradually perceive personal and societal reality as well as the contradictions in it, become conscious of his or her own perception of that reality, and deal critically with it."

"We simply cannot go to the laborers - urban or peasant - in the banking style, to give them "knowledge" or to impose upon them the model of the "good man" contained in a program whose content we have ourselves organized. Many political and educational plans have failed because their authors designed them according to their own personal views of reality, never once taking into account (except as mere objects of their actions) the men-in-a-situation to whom their program was ostensibly directed."

"To investigate the generative theme is to investigate people's thinking about reality and people's action upon reality, which is their praxis. For precisely this reason, the methodology proposed requires that the investigators and the people (who would normally be considered objects of that investigation) should act as co-investigators. The more active an attitude men and women take in regard to their exploration of their thematics, the more they deepen their critical awareness of reality and, in spelling out those thematics, take possession of that reality."

"Revolutionary leaders commit many errors and miscalculations by not taking into account something so real as the people's view of the world: a view which explicitly and implicitly contains their concerns, their doubts, their hopes, their way of seeing the leaders, their perceptions of themselves and of the oppressors, their religious beliefs (almost always syncretic), their fatalism, their rebellious reactions. None of these can be seen separately, for in interaction all of them compose a totality."

Paulo Freire
Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Learning #10: Honesty is such a lonely word.
Billy Joel might just say it best. In the context of design for social impact, sometimes I've wondered if the truth is always embraced. From metrics to making it stick, transparency comes at a cost. I know it's part of life but quite frankly, it ain't always easy.

Lest you think I'm depressed or something, I arrive at this place after an intense graduate degree filled with critiques and commentary, teaching experiences that have their own measure of intensity (if you teach, you understand) and a few experiences where I was stretched beyond what I thought possible. In looking forward, I hope I pursue honesty and grace in my relationships and work. But I gotta be honest. It can be lonely out there.

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