I'm proud to be a designer.
I vividly remember being at a happy hour one evening at 111 Minna, right after I started at EchoUser, and somebody asked me what I did. With a little hesitation, but a hint of a swagger, I replied, "I'm a...designer". Damn I felt so freakin' cool.
But I wasn't always a designer, at least not by name. Sure, I noticed things in the world around me, paid attention to how I interacted with people and things, but I had no training or experience, I couldn't verbalize my design-y thoughts in any meaningful way. In fact, I didn't even think of design as being something I could do until about 4 years ago, and only then it was when I saw IDEO's Tim Brown on TED that I realized design is for everyone, not just artists and "creative types". So when people say "Oh no, I can't do design. I just don't have the eye" I can point to myself as proof that folks, that just ain't true - everyone has what it takes to be a designer.
What has design given me since I started at EchoUser 3 years and 2 months ago? More than I can explain here, and definitely more than I realize, I'm sure. But a few things do come to mind:
- 1. Design made me aware: I literally see things differently now. I notice pixels (or a lack thereof on the Retina display) and I care about kerning; I love when people take the time to design something delightful (Nest, Yardsale, Path and Zappos) and notice when they don't (WellsFargo.com, any MUNI experience, dreaded AT&T customer service reps); I hear subtle differences in the sounds car doors make when they close; I appreciate a well laid out store (Paxton Gate, Apple) and how a letterpress menu feels (expensive). All of these things I now notice, for better or worse, that I didn't before - and I couldn't be happier. I think the thing that most separates designers from non-designers is a general curiosity and awareness of the experiences that exist out in the world, who they're for, and how they could be better.
- 2. Design gave me a language: this is really important, because language adds structure and substance to what are otherwise just opinions. What used to be a knee-jerk opinion, "I hate this sign, it's just too blue" turns into, "There's no information hierarchy on this sign, and the blue background conflicts with the readability of the text." Language gives me fodder to dissect and explain a particular experience, whether I'm talking to a client or a user going through an experience, which is absolutely key - because design without communication is just fluff.
- 3. Design gave me family: I mean this in a most literal sense - the crew at EchoUser is made up of fantastic designers and researchers, all of whom are my friends and daily inspiration. The work they do blows me away, and their attitude to being part of a great company (whether with 3 employees back when I started, or the 12 we have now) is really awesome. But I have a family beyond the walls of EchoUser, too: everyone who has had some part in creating an experience, whether on the front lines of product design and engineering, or in a more peripheral role - these people and I now have something in common (design). The best part about the discipline of design is that it's not limited to a specific product: I can chat with someone about the design of a product I've never seen simply because we speak the lingo (see #2 above). Further, I meet people every day who don't consider themselves designers but are designing awesome things every day anyway (and serving as amazing inspiration) - we have something in common and that's very cool.
And now, as I leave EchoUser for a 6-month road trip across the US, Canada and Central America in my surf van Duke, I'm turning my design lens on something else entirely: myself. Because while designing for others is great, there's no reason why we can't design life, relationships, career, indeed our future in the same way (or at least try to). More importantly, I think a big part of the creative process is to step back to assess and synthesize, to poke and prod at what has been created so as to push its boundaries in the future. I think it's all too easy to get caught up in the daily moments that make up our lives and fast forward 30 years - having lived a good and full life, sure, but not a good, full and (semi) designed life.
While taking time off to reassess one's life, to get inspired, is by no means a new thing, it's novel for me - and as every designer can attest to, there's nothing more exciting than designing something new.
Thanks to Mick, Aaron and everyone for a fabulous 3 years. Here's to many more to come!
- Felix
* Feel free to follow my photos and commentary from the open road over at www.dukebec.com and @Felixdesroches.
I'm proud to be a designer.
I vividly remember being at a happy hour one evening at 111 Minna, right after I started at EchoUser, and somebody asked me what I did. With a little hesitation, but a hint of a swagger, I replied, "I'm a...designer". Damn I felt so freakin' cool.
But I wasn't always a designer, at least not by name. Sure, I noticed things in the world around me, paid attention to how I interacted with people and things, but I had no training or experience, I couldn't verbalize my design-y thoughts in any meaningful way. In fact, I didn't even think of design as being something I could do until about 4 years ago, and only then it was when I saw IDEO's Tim Brown on TED that I realized design is for everyone, not just artists and "creative types". So when people say "Oh no, I can't do design. I just don't have the eye" I can point to myself as proof that folks, that just ain't true - everyone has what it takes to be a designer.
What has design given me since I started at EchoUser 3 years and 2 months ago? More than I can explain here, and definitely more than I realize, I'm sure. But a few things do come to mind:
- 1. Design made me aware: I literally see things differently now. I notice pixels (or a lack thereof on the Retina display) and I care about kerning; I love when people take the time to design something delightful (Nest, Yardsale, Path and Zappos) and notice when they don't (WellsFargo.com, any MUNI experience, dreaded AT&T customer service reps); I hear subtle differences in the sounds car doors make when they close; I appreciate a well laid out store (Paxton Gate, Apple) and how a letterpress menu feels (expensive). All of these things I now notice, for better or worse, that I didn't before - and I couldn't be happier. I think the thing that most separates designers from non-designers is a general curiosity and awareness of the experiences that exist out in the world, who they're for, and how they could be better.
- 2. Design gave me a language: this is really important, because language adds structure and substance to what are otherwise just opinions. What used to be a knee-jerk opinion, "I hate this sign, it's just too blue" turns into, "There's no information hierarchy on this sign, and the blue background conflicts with the readability of the text." Language gives me fodder to dissect and explain a particular experience, whether I'm talking to a client or a user going through an experience, which is absolutely key - because design without communication is just fluff.
- 3. Design gave me family: I mean this in a most literal sense - the crew at EchoUser is made up of fantastic designers and researchers, all of whom are my friends and daily inspiration. The work they do blows me away, and their attitude to being part of a great company (whether with 3 employees back when I started, or the 12 we have now) is really awesome. But I have a family beyond the walls of EchoUser, too: everyone who has had some part in creating an experience, whether on the front lines of product design and engineering, or in a more peripheral role - these people and I now have something in common (design). The best part about the discipline of design is that it's not limited to a specific product: I can chat with someone about the design of a product I've never seen simply because we speak the lingo (see #2 above). Further, I meet people every day who don't consider themselves designers but are designing awesome things every day anyway (and serving as amazing inspiration) - we have something in common and that's very cool.
And now, as I leave EchoUser for a 6-month road trip across the US, Canada and Central America in my surf van Duke, I'm turning my design lens on something else entirely: myself. Because while designing for others is great, there's no reason why we can't design life, relationships, career, indeed our future in the same way (or at least try to). More importantly, I think a big part of the creative process is to step back to assess and synthesize, to poke and prod at what has been created so as to push its boundaries in the future. I think it's all too easy to get caught up in the daily moments that make up our lives and fast forward 30 years - having lived a good and full life, sure, but not a good, full and (semi) designed life.
While taking time off to reassess one's life, to get inspired, is by no means a new thing, it's novel for me - and as every designer can attest to, there's nothing more exciting than designing something new.
Thanks to Mick, Aaron and everyone for a fabulous 3 years. Here's to many more to come!
- Felix
* Feel free to follow my photos and commentary from the open road over at www.dukebec.com and @Felixdesroches.