Make Design Matter - teaser

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A Little Red Book about how to

MAKE DESIGN MATTER

By David Carlson

Š Copyright 2012 David Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

INTRO

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The earth is suffering.

We have disturbed the eco-balance that is so essential to life. Our finite resources are running low.

For the first time in the history of earth, the actions of one species are altering the very system that supports all life as we know it.

Human society is changing, too.

For a long time design has manifested and consolidated an outdated consumer culture, almost a monoculture. We are surrounded by stuff, junk, gadgets, gizmos, artifacts. As consumers we now feel doubtful about this consumption circus. Shopping makes us happy only to a certain degree. But the kick quickly wears off. Overconsumption is slowly but surely destroying us – psychologically, spiritually, maybe even morally – and more concretely, destroying the world we live in.

Š Copyright 2012 David Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

THE CHALLENGE

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The suffering earth and changing society require radical solutions based on new, transformative, and inclusive strategies in all development processes.

Design can play a more vital role that promotes a new ethic – a responsible and sustainable cultural position – thereby restoring to our lives diversity, meaning, and value.

We need to move design’s concern beyond mere style and shape to include experience, service, and participation. We must enable design that facilitates change on different levels: personal, corporate, organizational, and governmental.

DESIGN’S VENUE IS EXPANDING FROM PRODUCT TO EXPERIENCE TO SYSTEMS TO POLICY -Bruce Nussbaum Design is about politics, whether we like it or not…

Š Copyright 2012 David Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

If you would like to break the pattern, use your power and cross the stream of change – the seven stepping stones presented in this book will help you make a real difference. You will get a good start to get involved in the process of turning the world into a better place. But even better if you choose to be a dedicated catalyst for change and implement holistic thinking in all your actions, turning your involvement into a strong and lifelong commitment.

The following short Q&A describes the dissimilarity between the two: Question: In a bacon-and-egg breakfast, what’s the difference between the chicken and the pig?

Answer: The chicken is involved, but for the pig it is a total commitment!

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BE DEDICATED

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Bacon

Egg

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THE SEVEN STEPPING STONES

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1. Think transdisciplinary 2. Take a cultural approach 3. Act responsibly 4. Make it different 5. Share knowledge 6. Be intuitive 7. Dare to fail

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PRACTICE HYBRID THINKING

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In the beginning, a designer was merely an engineer with detailed knowledge. To solve today’s more complex problems, we must refocus our attention and effect a “portfolio mind.” The designer is today an investigator who seeks cross-pollination from different fields of thought – as a behavioral scientist, a perceptual psychologist, and a literary storyteller.

Actually, this way of thinking is not new. Five hundred years ago, during the Renaissance, da Vinci and his friends in Florence regularly practiced hybrid thinking, causing art, science, and literature to interact.

Then there are T-shaped people who benefit from working in two worlds. They’re specialists in one discipline, but empaths able to learn from and collaborate with specialists from other disciplines.

(Nevertheless, we may still appreciate a surgeon or a dentist who maintains his or her disciplinary focus…!)

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Different ways of life require different types of bicycle helmets. Hövding is an inflatable safety collar worn around the bicyclist’s neck triggered by a mechanism that picks up the bicyclist’s abnormal movements during an accident. The Swedish design duo behind this “invisible bicycle helmet” transferred knowledge (air-bag) from one industry (autos) to another industry (bicycle safety) and realized a brilliant solution.

It’s about vanity as well as safety; Hövding will not destroy your hairdo unnecessarily… The collar is covered by a removable shell that can be changed to match your clothing. “This subtle design blends in with what else you are wearing, and it will save your life!”

By the way, Nintendo Wii was born nearly the same way: its motion-controller idea was inspired by the accelerometer chip in an automobile’s airbag.

How can your business benefit by cross-fertilization from other sources?

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CROSSFERTILIZE

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THE ONLY IMPORTANT THING ABOUT DESIGN IS HOW IT RELATES TO PEOPLE. -Victor Papanek

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MEANING IS PARAMOUNT

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One route to design success is the ability to enhance commerce with cultural expression, thus providing products and services with the same deep meanings we find in experiences – music, theatre, dance, food, museums, film, literature, and sports, each of which offers an emotionality that people everywhere need and crave.

© Copyright 2012 David Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

FIND NEW SOLUTIONS

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Sometimes a small change can make a positively big difference. Before 1985, ski jumpers the world around jumped with their skis parallel. Then Sweden’s Jan Boklöf began jumping with spread skis. This method provided more lift and enabled Boklöf to fly longer in the air – and consequently, to jump farther. Jan Boklöf won the World Cup only once, but he is still revered as the man who invented the so-called V-style, a standard now used by jumpers everywhere.

There is always an opportunity to make even the simplest things different and better.

Š Copyright 2012 David Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

TAKE A RISK

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Film director David Lynch dares to fail. His odd films push the boundaries, always teetering on the edge between genius and madness.

When David entered the music arena with his Crazy Clown Time album, he took an even bigger leap. His recording process was all about creative serendipity.

“There were so many accidents, this album should be in the hospital,” Lynch recalled to a trade magazine interview.

David Lynch, like most successful entrepreneurs, proved that safe bets usually aren’t the way to go.

Take a risk. You might become an unexpected hero!

© Copyright 2012 David Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT IN THE WORLD -Mahatma Gandhi

Š Copyright 2012 David Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

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© Copyright 2012 David Carlson. All Rights Reserved.

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THIS LITTLE RED BOOK PRESENTS A POCKET GUIDE TO MEANINGFUL DESIGN. SEVEN STEPPING STONES THAT INSPIRE YOU TO CROSS THE STREAM OF CHANGE, AND GET YOU TO THE OTHER SIDE, FIRM AND DRY… -Brent Richards, Creative Chef & Architect

Make Design Matter is an accessible book about a complex subject. It proposes strategic design guidelines based on holistic concepts. The guidelines facilitate convergence across different fields, inspiring designers and lay persons, companies and institutions, and teachers and students of design to envision and apply more meaningful solutions.

This book will help you to design better… and to make design matter! www.makedesignmatter.com