Welcome to The Design Loft!
This issue is devoted to a year-end reflection on the first year of The Design Loft and on the experiments in learning that were fostered through it. This has always been an experimental approach to teaching, learning, and sharing what I know about design and evaluation to help you — whomever you are — make things better through making better things.
What did I learn through the process of trying to teach and inspire others to design?By employing the very design methods and approaches I’ve advocated for in my inquiry, I’ve come to a few insights.
Learning and Design
One of the big experiments that came from this year was the aim to teach people certain design techniques and approaches to design. The format has been using short videos and slide decks with content that could be simply packaged and made accessible. The thinking was that simple, accessible tools would be desired and used. By having an archive, it provided people with a steady reference source for when they needed it.
This hypothesis was disproved. Through experimentation with length and format, different emphasis on aspects of the design lessons, and alternative ways of promoting them I’ve come to learn that this is not something that my readers are interested in.
Is it the format? Is it the content? Is it the situation (lessons embedded within a weekly newsletter)? Could it be the timing? The answer is not clear. But what was clear — and the data showed this: this is not adding value.
What is adding value? The links of interest, often positioned near the top of each issue, were attractive to people. The feedback I’ve gained from readers is that the exposure to the ideas, tools, and links help people to think about design in new ways. Did they help people to design and enhance the impact of their work? It’s been too too to tell, but the early evidence is: maybe. I’ve been told that some have used what they learned from The Design Loft, while others have said they liked the content. But likeable content — while desirable — is only part of the story.
“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Perspective and Stance
The Design Loft has been relatively agnostic when it came to presenting a particular stance or perspective. Methods and tools have been shared with an idea that you, the reader, will tell me what is important through your choices of what to click on and attend to. These have been curated from my experience and expertise, but otherwise my hope was to let the market decide what to focus on.
But what is that market? My aim is to help change-makers do their work better to achieve impact. This means helping designers to evaluate, evaluators to design, and to improve the overall conversation between them all.
What did the market tell me? You told me you’re interested in design methods, resources, and tools, but aren’t clear on how to use them, when, and where. To this end, there’s clear distinction about what The Design Loft offers. Most other design resources take this same approach.
The best designers — the ones that I admire — take a clear stance. They go where they believe design methods, tools, thinking, and perspective can make a positive difference on issues that matter. The best evaluators bring a perspective, their values, and a distinct approach to solving problems. Neither group, at their best, are agnostic or dispassionate. To borrow from Bruce Mau: design needs to inspire to be effective.
A solely market-driven perspective doesn’t achieve this.
Design Loft 2024
Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to The Design Loft, read and engaged with the content, and provided such valuable feedback to me. I appreciate your interest and support.
At its core, design is about transforming what we learn about the world into the things that shape it for our betterment. Once we intentionally take a perspective and express desire for something that does not yet exist we begin the path to designing.
In 2024, I’m going to continue to experiment with the content and format of The Design Loft and far from ignoring the market, I’m going to look to lead in it. You’ll still see lessons and resources in various forms, but you’ll see more. My aim is to go deeper with the next set of experiments in the hope that by taking more of a stance and sharing more of what I bring as a designer to these pages you’ll find a greater sense of purpose and inspiration in your own work.
Let’s play. Play is good for us and a part of what makes design such an enjoyable activity and not just a practical one.
See you in 2024.