From “On Writing a Spec” by Seth Godin
Only gradually did I come to see the power of design not as a link in a chain but as the hub of a wheel. When I left the protected world of art school—where everyone looked the same, acted the same, and spoke the same language—and entered the world of business, I had to spend far more time trying to explain to my clients what design was than actually doing it. I realized that I was approaching the world from a set of operating principles that was different from theirs. The resulting confusion was getting in the way of my creativity and productivity.
I also noticed that the people who inspired me were not necessarily members of the design profession: engineers such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Thomas Edison, and Ferdinand Porsche, all of whom seemed to have a human-centered rather than technology-centered worldview; behavioral scientists such as Don Norman, who asked why products are so needlessly confusing; artists such as Andy Goldsworthy and Antony Gormley, who seemed to engage their viewers in an experience that made them part of the artwork; business leaders such as Steve Jobs and Akio Morita, who were creating unique and meaningful products. I realized that behind the soaring rhetoric of “genius” and “visionary” was a basic commitment to the principles of design thinking.
From “Change By Design – How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation” by Tim Brown
Photo by Krisztian Tabori on Unsplash
All the tools in the world are meaningless without an essential idea. An artist, or advertising man, or anyone involved in a creative industry (or even non-creative profession such as doctor, lawyer, electrician, factory worker, or president) without an idea is unarmed. In the graphic arts, when that original idea springs out of a creative‘s head and intuitions, the mystical and artful blending or even juxtaposition of concept, image, words, and art can lead to magic, where one and one can indeed be three.
From “Damn Good Advice” by George Lois
Photo by RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist on Unsplash
Engineering is the intersection of science and humanity. Da Vinci, Newton, Einstein, Tesla, Ben Franklin, and Steve Jobs where as much humanists as they were scientists. They sought to unlock the secrets of the universe – its elegant and mathematical underpinnings – but also cared deeply how their discoveries would affect mankind. It is one thing to discover atomic fusion, electricity, or the iPhone, but it is at least is important to consider how the adoption of these advances into society will alter its course.
Many of the world’s most intractable and urgent problems can be thought of as engineering problems. An engineer is an expert in meticulously deconstructing a problem, understanding the interconnected facets of a system, leveraging available resources, overcoming impediments, creatively designing and assessing strategies, and carefully implementing solutions. In short, engineers are problem solvers. And the world needs more of them.
Mechatronics represents a new and exciting chapter in the history of engineering. While engineers have been around for thousands of years, the increasing ubiquity of small, inexpensive, and powerful computers is radically changing how engineering is done. Now, not only can engineers design and build fantastic machines, but those machines can sense and interact with their environment. Today, machines can connect to the internet, communicate with other machines, and they can even learn. That confluence — machine and electronics — is Mechatronics.
From “Charlottesville High School Mechatronics 1 Syllabus” by Dr. Matthew Shields
“Genius requires solitude. Be alone, that is the secret of invention.”
– Nikola Tesla
Photo by niklas_hamann on Unsplash
Life is a question. You may be asking why focus on the question when what we really crave is an answer? It’s simple. Answers come from questions and the quality of any answer is directly determined by the quality of the question. Ask the wrong question get the wrong answer. Ask the right question and get the right answer. Ask the most powerful question possible and the answer can be life altering.
From “The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller
Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash
Richard Boland, a professor at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western University says, the problem with managers today is that they do the first damn thing that pops into their heads. After spending months studying the design process of architect Frank Gehry, Boland concluded: “There’s a whole level of reflectiveness absent in traditional management that we can find in design.”.
Naturally managers who rely on the decision mode will find reasons to exclude the design mode from there thinking: “We don’t have time.” “Our budgets won’t allow it.” “The real problem is political.” “Our culture is too conservative.” These aren’t really reasons but excuses, and they condemn a company to a future of limited choices. The traditional management model is a veritable thrift store of hand me down concepts all perfectly tailored for a previous need an a previous era. The old model was innovated so long ago that those who once saw business management as a cause for revolution – Frederick Taylor, Henry Ford, Alfred Sloan, and others are long gone. We need a new band of revolutionaries to enlarge the scope of possibilities.
From “The Designful Company” by Marty Neumeier.
Photo by Max Rovensky on Unsplash
The most efficient route that nature has found from point A to B is rarely a straight line. It is always the path of least resistance. The most efficient way to turn someone’s talent into performance is to help him find his own path of least resistance toward the desired outcomes.
From “First Break All the Rules” by Gallup, Inc.
Photo by Rain Chris Garant on Unsplash
When I started a corporate design firm I was determined to go beyond graphics logos and color palettes by fusing strategy content and design to reflect the distinctive corporate voice of each client.
The marketing department of a retail bank asked me to redesign the customer forms – applications, signature cards, loan notes – to reinforce their desired images of global banking leader.
The shock of seeing their installment loan note made it clear to me that design was not the issue or the solution. Riddled with dense legalese, the contract screamed, “Don’t read this!” But it also communicated a great business opportunity.
Here is the original default clause:
In the event of a default in the payment of this or any other Obligation or the performance or observance of any term or covenant contained herein or an any note or other contract or agreement evidencing or relating to any Obligation or any Collateral on the Borrower’s part to be performed or observed; or the undersigned Borrower shall die; or any of the undersigned become insolvent or make an assignment for the benefit of creditors; or a petition shall be filed by or against any of the undersigned under any provision of the Bankruptcy Act; or any money, securities are property of the undersigned now or hereafter on deposit with or in possession or under the control of the bank shall be attached or become subject to distraint proceedings or any order or process of any court; or the Bank shall deem itself to be insecure then and in any such event the bank shall have the right (at its option), without demand or notice of any kind, to declare all or any parts of the Obligations to it be immediately due and payable, whereupon such obligations shall become and be immediately due and payable, and the Bank shall have the right to exercise all the rights and remedies available to a secured party upon default under the Uniform Commercial Code (the “Code”) In effect in New York at the time, and such other rights and remedies as may otherwise be provided by law.
…and here is how we rewrote it:
I’ll be in default:
That was it. We learned a valuable lesson that the content must be questioned first before rewriting.
From “Simple” by Alan Siegel and Irene Etzcorn
