> I am curious about what you design by. What are your fundamental > tenets of > design; those little bulleted phrases on the Design Vision slide of > your > Powerpoint, the signatures on your email footer, the philosophies > you work > by as you design?
Great question. I just want to be clear, though, that this is how *I* work. I make no claim that working the way I do will lead to success for other designers, design firms, or for design as a whole in a capitalist economy. * Do work you can be proud of. * Work for clients and bosses you like and can be proud of. Show the sleazebags the door. * Don't lie. * Understand that your audience is not you (and learn who they are), but always treat your audience how you would want to be treated. * Don't worry about the longevity of your ideas -- much of what is truly great is perfect for the moment but ultimately ephemeral, while much of what lasts is crummy and is only remembered for nostalgic reasons. * Generate ideas constantly. Write down every idea. * Design can happen first, even before a need or problem is identified. * But design isn't just "a good idea". It's a good follow through, too. * Think hard and work hard: 90% of your time will be spent dreaming up your ideas. The other 90% will be spent implementing them. * Make 'em think: Don't be afraid to be a snob. Some people just won't get your idea without thinking about it. Some people just don't want to think. But those who do will appreciate being challenged. * Make 'em laugh: Don't be afraid to be a goof. Some people have no sense of humor, but you'll be surprised who does. * Style is great. Fads and fashions are fun. There are plenty of design contexts where stylishness is critical -- and there is no design context where a sense of style is completely inappropriate. * Share your design ideas. No idea is so good that keeping it secret helps you. If you don't build it, that's your problem. * Design is a funny kind of collaboration: Two designers are better than one, but only one designer can drive. * Design is fun. -Cf Christopher Fahey ____________________________ Behavior biz: http://www.behaviordesign.com me: http://www.graphpaper.com On Nov 12, 2007, at 1:00 PM, Lisa deBettencourt wrote: > I am curious about what you design by. What are your fundamental > tenets of > design; those little bulleted phrases on the Design Vision slide of > your > Powerpoint, the signatures on your email footer, the philosophies > you work > by as you design? > > What's your domain and how do you use your tenets to guide you on a > daily > basis? > > ~Lisa > (IxDA Boston) > ________________________________________________________________ > *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* > February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA > Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
