insights on innovation

what design is

i am finishing a paper on a contemporary look at design methods. i am referencing some of the classics, like john chris jone’s design methods and zeisel’s inquiry by design. in each of these references, the nature of design is discussed. in reading these, i can’t help but see the descriptions as inadequate, too general, and not very helpful in really identifying the nature of design.

i’m sure it will take me many tries, but i figure this is a good forum for trying to work out, a piece at a time, what design really is.

design is the determination and arrangement of the form of things to achieve specific functions.

design tools, tools design

as my partner, michael winnick, and i begin planning a new portal site on new product definition using moveable type, i am reminded of the principle of building tools that can build themselves. for example, it has been siad that a machine lathe is one of the few machines that can be used to build another one.

with my subscription to typepad pro, i believe we will be more easily be able to design our new portal using moveable type, on our server. why? well, for me, I can twiddle around in typepad templates and use the more extensive web interface for designing a site. then i just copy that template over to our mt system.

will it work? i haven't tried it yet, but if it does, typepad will have become a design tool for me to build more sites outside of its own system. that is a reflection of the good design (system architecture, standards, etc.) that mt and typepad are built upon.

i'll report back later...

chicago design archive

the society of typograhic arts has launched the chicago design archive, a collection of graphic, packaging, and environment design work celebrating the legacy of communication design in chicago.

it is a live archive, meaning that designers can submit their work to it for inclusion. there is a $25 handling fee for each submission.

its worth looinkg through to see work from the good ol' days.

1946

i met a lady today whose husband received the first masters degree from the institute of design. i was truly enthralled as she recounted how moholy-nagy encouraged him to pursue the masters in an interesting topic and with the simple expectation that he would publish what he found out by doing it.

she showed us one of her now-deceased husband's exercises from the foundation program.

belief's role in successful projects

what role does "belief" play in making a successful new design? over the years, after having interacted with hundreds of teams on different projects, certainly the ones that were really successful had a motivated team that believed in what they were doing. of course the internet bust proved that belief isn't a guarantee.

i can see how belief can have big impacts. perhaps most importantly, belief provides determination to figure out how to make something happen. and that's where we get the most benefit in working with clients through our process called integrated product definition(tm). we show the hard work and detrmination that leads to insightful and valuable new designs.

would it be possible to target specific methods on building belief and the detrmination to see something through? or is it just more of the culture that can be instilled through working together?