Manifesto.

Before you start reading, take a moment to look around and think about your everyday routine. Think about the things that help you get through the day. (1 of 8)

We are constantly making small choices while interacting with our environment, for example, picking out the right size toaster for the bread we like, choosing the right color for our walls to reflect sunlight, or the materials for our bedsheets because they keep us cool at night.

Everything requires design, but we choose to integrate well-designed objects and spaces into our lives because they solve problems. Good designs are a key pillar in keeping the world running smoothly and holding our lives together, but more often than not, they blend into our lives so well that, over time, they become overlooked and taken for granted.



Now, you might wonder, “ok, so if good designs keep the world running, how do I recognize when something is well designed?” The best way is to imagine yourself using it or put it to the test. If this design solves a problem, but in the process creates another one, it means that a step in its ideation process is missing. Good designs may solve one problem, or maybe even three, but they should not create them, as that would defeat their sole purpose.

Here's another thought: when a product fails to meet its purpose, what do you do? Most people will discard this product, thereby creating waste. That means that not only did this design fail to solve one problem, but it also actually created two: it became trash and emptied your wallet. We live in a world where everything is available at the tip of our fingers, where mass production, low prices, and poor quality have become the new normal. And this has prompted us to create more waste than we can process, only because we want things fast, and therefore, they are usually not made of the best quality in order to meet the demand. 

As consumers, we must be more responsible, but as designers, we must be smarter. We have the power to “control” people's future decisions through the work we introduce into the world. When we begin to ideate and design, we should invest an extensive amount of time into analyzing human behaviour, testing, and rethinking how our final products will impact the environment.

We should also remember that we have the responsibility to educate/inform our community as to why good design is important and should not be rushed, just like it should not be taken for granted. Sometimes you may come across products that seem very “simple”, and you may even dare to think, “I could've designed that myself”.  Although it is true that we are all creators in this world, designing is not for everyone. It is hard mental work that should be taken seriously and properly appreciated. Ironically, to produce something that is so effortlessly appealing is exactly where designers invest most of their time (or at least should).