Big Ideas
What are the best design practices for happy designers and happy clients? Kirk Lunsford University of Colorado Denver February 25, 2018
What’s the big idea? I’ve been a designer for half of my life. If we count the time I spent since the sixth grade drawing the new Air Jordan’s, perhaps I could say most of my life. I’ve explored design in many different industries from toys, shoes, products, and games. Almost seven years ago I began my journey into the field of theme design. My position requires an intersection of several different fields including design fields of graphic, industrial, interior, and instructional. It also involves art and project management. The complexities of the work has kept me interested, motivated, and sometimes exhausted. I’m always looking for new ways to approach my work to simplify the complex nature of it. Over the course of my short career in the theme business, two recurring questions constantly present themselves: 1. How can we streamline our work to make it more cohesive and faster? 2. How can we satisfy our clients with successful products? It may not be possible to truly answer both of these questions; I’m sure many have tried. It’s probably best understood as an ever-evolving answer depending on many factors. Instead of trying to answer these head on, I can find some methods and techniques that might improve the processes and products. Ultimately, everyone wants to be happy with the process of their work and the finished results. Therefore the big idea for me at this point in my career is to answer the question: What are the best design practices for happy designers and happy clients? Before we can go down the path of enlightenment in search of happiness, it’s important to define what career happiness means. I’ve discovered some resources relevant to this inquiry based on happiness in my career. I can certainly say, I’ve had a broad range of emotions in my day to day work as a designer, not all of which involve happiness. However, as Scott Dinsmore would say, “What is the work you can’t not do?” in his Tedtalk about finding happiness in your career. I’ve discovered design is the work I can’t not do. However not any specific niche design, but design in a more holistic sense. That’s why theme design is so interesting because it offers opportunities to be creative in multi-faceted design disciplines like graphic, industrial, interior, and instructional design. All of which working together creates an enriched experience unlike anything else.
The following is a collection of resources to support “happiness” inquiry as it relates to design and my summative thoughts on each selection:
TedTalks How to Find Work You Love “What work can you not do?” This is the essential question to ask for anyone seeking a career. Scott brings this question into focus in his Ted talk about his life and how he finds most people are unhappy in their careers. I can truly say “design” is the work I can’t not do. However not any niche design, rather, a holistic approach to design. And the design of a variety of things. Understanding this has served me well in my career. Happiness By Design Stefan recalls some of the happiest moments in his life. Many of these times involved design. He shares some with the audience. Some are funny, some are simple, some are tranquil. He lists some of his happy moments in design: ● “Thinking about ideas and content freely with the deadline far away.” ● “Working without interruption on a single project.” ● “Using a wide variety of tools and techniques.” ● “Traveling to new places.” ● “Working on projects that matter to me.” ● “Having things come back from the printer well done.” These points are very relatable to me and probably most designers. It’s a good reminder of some of the things that really matter. 3 Ways Good Design Makes You Happy Norman discusses his passion to find beauty and happiness in design. A combination of subtle nuances working simply and intuitively for the user makes beautiful design. In some ways this flipped where a design may be functionally useless, such as the Phillipe Stark juicer. However, the object is so enjoyable to look at it’s less obsolete than perhaps a functional piece because it is art. When people are happy they are more creative however we need to be anxious too because most design projects require a deadline. The tension between these two things creates great design. Visceral, behavioral, and reflective qualities have potential to bring out happiness. Flow, The Secret To Happiness How do people find happiness? Mihaly describes his feeling as well in many others post World War II where his “happiness” quest began. What he discovered was the concept of “flow” which results in a happy feeling for many people. Flow can be achieved by many different people in a variety of different ways. The feeling of flow can give people's lives more purpose and meaning. It’s a feeling of not doing “ordinary routine tasks” but a feeling of a “new reality.” “Existence is temporarily suspended.” I’ve often felt flow in many different aspects of design. However it’s a challenge to achieve on a day to day 2
basis depending on what presents itself. It’s a important to make time each day to allow myself to experience flow. Less Stuff, More Happiness Graham Hill reminds us of our space dilemma in the housing market. He makes us question if we really need all that space to fill up with our stuff? This challenges the concept of “planned obsolescence,” and focuses on buying things that really matter. It’s all about finding value in the most important things.
Websites & Blogs How To Design Happiness There are so many great things mentioned in this article. Firstly, it describes happy moments as a three part process such as anticipation of the event, the experience, and the memory. Something as simple as how mints are presented after a meal can increase a tip for the wait staff. Of course, tips being a measurement of happiness with service. Or making experiences more easily accessible rather than bureaucratic. Customers are happier with less forms, lines, and waits. Companies that empower their employees to make customers happy makes for better experiences. For example, at Disney parks, employees can replace children’s spilt popcorn, drinks, and ice cream for free. This inspires me to consider some of our processes and how we may make things simplified for our clients. 10 Things Happy Designers Do (Every Day) An important reminder of the everyday things most designers do to stay happy at doing their jobs. Finding inspiration, creating boundaries, being able to say “No,” etc. are all things great designers may learn to do to find happiness and success. I can relate to most of these points. Some of these things I already do, others are reminders. 3 Ways To Design Happiness According to the study presented in this article, yes, it is possible to design happiness. The formula they discovered involves “small pleasures and higher purpose.” Although the article mostly focuses on online experiences, there were some things that were learned. Showing real people on our website, or showing real people involved in our process, may help customers understood “who” and “what” we do in a relatable way. “Being considerate without being creepy” may mean making our interactions with our customers more intuitive and accessible. It’s possible there are some simple things we can do to make it easier for our customers. “Leaving it open” is something my company already does well. We like to work with our customers to design their space. This allows them to be creative and share their unique vision The Science Behind the Smile Happiness researchers have been studying happiness for a few decades. They’ve discovered happiness is fleeting. Happiness can be both synthetic or “real” but it’s best 3
understood as a challenge to achieve a goal. Having many successes and happy moments is greater than achieving big happiness goals. Both are relevant, but people are happier when they can do small things day to day to improve their feeling of happiness. This is important to interpret my practices as well as our business practices with customers to allow us to experience happiness in several big ways and many small day to day ways.
Books Happiness by Design: Change What You Do, Not How You Think A behavioral happiness research book. The research suggests happiness is both “pleasure and purpose.” Context and situation may define happiness. The book offers multiple anecdotes from different perspectives. This is an interesting approach because in many ways I think happiness is a state of mind. However this book suggests changes in behavior make people happier. Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service (Disney Institute Book, A) A look into the customer experience behind Disney. It’s all about exceeding expectations and allowing employees to go above and beyond. Both employee and customer experience is exceptional. This book may greatly relational as my work involves customers who want great experiences for families in similar ways to Disney. The Thank You Economy A book that explores traditional customer service values like listening to customers and providing accessible interactions and experiences. These principles are applied to social media and more modern means of customer service. The book gets to the root of providing exceptional customer service which is relations through direct, accessible means of communication. Although I already have a contact list in my phone full of customers who text me at 9pm, I’m sure there are many other ways we can make ourselves accessible and relatable to customers to make their experience best.
Documentaries & Film The Happy Film Stefan Sagmeister explores his search for happiness expressed in film. The film has moments presented like his famous graphic design and photography projects. He explores the quest for happiness from three different common approaches such as, meditation, therapy, and drugs. What he finds in the search for happiness is a really something meaningful to him. But he also finds the quest for happiness and meaning can be painful. Happy This documentary shows us how above all, most people just want to be happy. However their actions may indicate otherwise. The film looks at different cultures and lifestyles to show what happiness means for a variety of people. In many cases, happiness is surprisingly simple. 4
Courses UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center The Science of Happiness Course A free online course that looks promising as an entry course for anyone seeking to learn more about positive psychology and the science behind happiness. The course surveys known psychologists and experts in the field. It also teaches techniques to find happiness on a day to day basis. Yale: PSYC 110: Introduction to Psychology Lecture 20 - The Good Life: Happiness A lecture from an open course from Yale online. The perspective is from traditional psychology rather than “positive psychology” focus. Professor Bloom discusses happiness as a “goal state” based on fulfilling needs. The paradox is most Americans are less happy than people in other times who were able to fulfill less needs or goals. This is what makes the research interesting. Happiness varies, but it doesn’t change drastically too often. Genes make up some level of happiness but not as much as day to day behaviors. Circumstance can momentarily change happiness but happiness levels often return to average. Stanford: Designing For Happiness The course involves lecture, lab, and group projects. It tackles psychological frameworks to consider when designing products. The course states designing happiness involves these three statements: ● “Strong brands are created, in equal parts, by passionate employees and customers.” ● “Employees want to be valued members of a high performing team on an inspired mission.” ● “Customers want brands that improve their lives - helping them achieve their goals, shape their stories, and cultivate happiness.” The course if for people who want to understand what it takes to make positive impact through design.
Conclusion The search for happiness in the design process for both designers and clients is a challenging mix of subtleties deliberateness. There are many things I personally related to in the search for the answers to this inquiry. I’ve provided a list of these things I discovered, hopefully, many other designers may also relate to:
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References Bloom, Paul (2018). PSYC 110: Introduction to Psychology Lecture 20 - The Good Life: Happiness. Retrieved from https://oyc.yale.edu/psychology/psyc-110/lecture-20 Cousins, C. (2016, October 3). 10 Things Happy Designers Do (Everyday). Retrieved
from https://designshack.net/articles/business-articles/10-things-happy-designers-do-ev ery-day/
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (February 2004). Flow, the secret to happiness [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow
Dinsmore, S. (October 2012). How to find work you love [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/scott_dinsmore_how_to_find_work_you_love Dolan, P. (2015). Happiness by Design: Change What You Do, Not How You Think. Plume. Hill, G. (March 2011). Less stuff, more happiness [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_less_stuff_more_happiness
Kinni, Theodore (2011). Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service. Disney Editions. Norman, D. (February 2003). 3 ways good design makes you happy [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/don_norman_on_design_and_emotion
Pavliscak, P. (201, July 20). 3 Ways To Design Happiness. Retrieved from https://www.invisionapp.com/blog/3-ways-to-design-happiness/ Sagmeister, S. (February 2004). Happiness by design [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_sagmeister_shares_happy_design
Shimizu, E. H. (Producer), Reid, Frances (Producer), Shadyac, Tom (Executive Producer), & Belic R.(Director) (2011). Happy [Motion Picture]. United States & Japan: Emotional Content, Iris Films, Wadi Rum Films. 7
The Science of Happiness (2014). Retrieved from https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/what_we_do/event/the_science_of_happiness The Science Behind The Smile. (January-February 2012). Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2012/01/the-science-behind-the-smile Vaynerchuk, Gary (2011). The Thank You Economy. HarperBusiness. Nabors B. (Co-Director / Producer), Stefan Sagmeister (Co-Director), & Curtis H. (Co-Director). (2016). The Happy Film [Motion Picture]. Worldwide: So So Productions LLC. Wilson, M. (2016, March 29). How To Design Happiness. Retrieved from https://www.fastcodesign.com/3058237/how-to-design-happiness
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