Design for Change #2
Ch. 6–8 & 4
Design has been around ever since the earth was formed. The author talks about how we as a human species have looked to the natural world and have applied different aspects to our lives. One example he mentioned was the Wright Brothers studying birds and insects to create the airplane.
We use design to judge and form ideas about everything that is around us. Sometimes those judgments can be right and sometimes they can be wrong. I like how the author brought up apps in the app store. We are more likely to get an app that looks very clean, put together, and familiar rather than one that is the opposite and sketchy. As designers, we want to create something that has a strong style and message in order for people to want to use it!
I never knew that there was the “placebo button” because who doesn’t hate to just stand around and wait for the elevator to move, but I agree from my own personal experience that clicking the button does make time go faster. And its sad to think about how we always have to have something new and are never satisfied. Like he said about food, most of what we eat isn’t there to nourish us, it’s there to make us happy. And the Apple products are obviously made to be expendable, that way people spend more money. But in the end, those designs are just hurting the world and how the world will be designed for future generations.
While I was reading this chapter, I found that I am not a brainstormer. Tom brought up the fact that we need to brainstorm as much as we can to train our brains into coming up with ideas that we may have not previously thought of in the first place.
I am not the type of person that can easily come up with ideas because I think of things too literally. Even after four years of college I still have to force myself to think “outside the box” and let myself come up with crazy ideas that may not work. It gets very frustrating because it makes me feel as if my designs aren’t as good as others and makes me question what I have made. In the end I have to trust myself and know that I will eventually get that great idea from the brainstorm.
