An introduction for me to Don Norman author of 'The design of Everyday Things'. Really thought provoking video, he aim in his role today is to change the way designers and educated. He looks at the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals to provide insight into this work.
Norman says that community based design should be used to solve and study the problems (17 points), but once a solution has been found we need to be careful not to fall into the pitfalls of 'paternalistic approaches' for the end users, they should take over the development of the ideas to fulfil their needs. I suppose it is the case that you never know until you walk in another mans shoes, and your understanding/perspective will always colour the judgement of a solution. for instance solving water needs in a 3rd world country if you come from he 1st world.
Norman points out that we all need to critique our ideas, look at the pitfalls, don't provide one solution because you are so close to that, that you make it work for the sake of it. Become an agile designer, learn the language of the problem: political, financial, business, or ecological.
I did a doodle with this in mind, I called it a 'circle of why we design' these key areas drive the process and the balance and as a designer we need to be mindful of all of these issues and how to make them better. Better business, improved people/lives, solving the issues, and being fincaially viable or making money. On top of all of this we have integrity to start o change the way our ideas come to life, as Norman says, the slimmer phone has worse battery life than the chunky one, we need to find a sustainable way of getting our needs and wants and satisfy our creativity... back to you Maslow!
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