DNF Round up #4

Hi Friends! Welcome to the 6 people who signed up last week. I’m excited to share this week’s “Designing Near Future” Newsletter with you.

This is a roundup of all the design resources I shared with you in the last 5 newsletters. You will find below:

⭐ 5 Shifts

⚡ 5 Tips

💊 15 Resources

⭐ Shifts

1. How Tiny Homes Are Setting New Standards in Smart Living

2. Are Design Subscriptions The New Standard for Design Agencies?

3. The Thing About Design Layoffs…

4. Webcams Used to Be Ugly, Look At Them Now

5. Why Do Fitness Products Look Like Furniture Now?

⚡ Tips

1. How to Know if a Design Opportunity is Worth Taking on

Every once in a while a design opportunity will present itself to creative designers. Either they will take it on, or pass it to someone else. I am talking about career opportunities, new clients, new collaborations etc. Here is a simple framework to evaluate if you should take that gig:

There are 3 deciding factors which we will use as evaluating criteria.

1. Prestige - Will this look good in my CV?

   Is it a great brand name? Will this client have connections? Will this benefit my professional career? Is there exposure for me?

2. Portfolio - Will this look good in my portfolio?

   Is it a valuable item in my portfolio? Is this a portfolio building opportunity? Does this excite me? Is this a learning opportunity?

3. Money - How much will I make from this project?

   Will I make good money on this project? Is this going to allow me to build capital for my business?

An ideal project will have all 3 criteria checked for you. But unfortunately that is a rare occurring.

What you really need is to satisfy at least 2 out of 3 criteria.

If its a great brand and a solid portfolio piece, it is okay to get paid less, because it’ll allow you to win more work from the exposure. If it’s a Mr. nobody but a solid opportunity, make sure you get paid for it. And finally if it’s a project that doesn’t excite you, make sure the exposure and the money are worth you spending the time on it.

If the project only ticks one of these criteria, you do not have a winner.

2. The Difference Between Storytelling and Argument

Knowing when to exercise storytelling and when to make an argument is key in design communication. The key difference between the two is as follows:

Story : Emphasizes emotions and personal context

Argument : Emphasizes facts, logic and analysis

In design, a story is your secret weapon when you want your audience to slip into someone else’s shoes. Airbnb for example isn’t just selling room listings - they’re selling the story of local and authentic experiences, transforming spaces into narratives. They often use an emotional hook—the memory that comes with a stay, crafted through the stories of hosts and travelers.

Use story when you're aiming to captivate and create a bond with your audience. It's for those moments when you need to sell a vision, an experience, or an identity.

On the flip side, argument is your go-to when you need to justify the design's existence with cold, hard facts. This is where a company like Tesla shines, marrying the dream of a greener planet with the inarguable performance of their electric cars. Their argument? Zero emissions, impressive mileage, and a business model that could save our cities from smog. It's the numbers and the relentless logic that convince the skeptics.

Turn to argument when your design needs to stand up to scrutiny, often in front of stakeholders or technically minded clients. This is where data, usability studies, and return on investment (ROI) come into play.

If I had to sum it up in one sentence: Use stories to pull on emotional strings and arguments to reassure the rational mind.

3. How to Be a Top of Mind Designer

It’s rare that the shift and design tips column ever align in this newsletter but this is one such event and this tip comes in at a good time, specially if you are trying to stand out as a creative in a sea of sameness.

There are two parts to staying top of mind.

1) Building Trust
2) Maintaining Trust

The first part of these tips come from Tom Hirst. He says:

Marketing (for a freelancer) is about trust.

If people trust you, they’ll buy from you.

7 ways to gain trust:

- Be discoverable (online and offline)
- Be authentic (don't fabricate)
- Be transparent (show results)
- Be accessible (help people)
- Be relatable (tell your story)
- Be brilliant (do great work)
- Be useful (spread value)

The second part comes from everything I have learnt as an Industrial Designers

7 ways to maintain trust

- Share your story through content (online and offline)
- Write more comments (be clear and offer value)
- Share your unique perspective on targeted news (free value)
- Share your work and talk about both results and process
- Show up to design events (make friends)
- Join your local design community (No community? Build one)
- Don’t be apologetic for your obsession


I will write more about content for designers soon in the coming year so stay tuned in if you are interested.

4. Design for the outliers, not the average

A key message in Rory Sutherland’s book Alchemy talks about the idea of not moving away from creating solutions and designs that target a hypothetical, average consumer. This, rather popular approach, often leads to predictable and uninspiring designs that may not resonate deeply with any particular group.

Instead, by focusing on specific, even extreme user needs or preferences, designers can create more innovative, creative and impactful solutions. Although he didn’t say it, but the tip here is to design for extremes, the outliers, the weird ones.

Rory illustrates this concept with the example of the sandwich. The sandwich, a simple yet ingenious culinary creation, was not designed for the average eater. Its origin traces back to the Earl of Sandwich, an obsessive gambler who needed a way to eat without leaving the gambling table. The solution was straightforward yet radical for its time: placing filling between slices of bread, eliminating the need for utensils and allowing for continuous gameplay.

Another example is Airbnb. Airbnb, now a globally recognized platform for booking unique accommodations, did not arise from a focus on the average traveler's needs as defined by the conventional hotel industry. It wasn't designed for the average traveler seeking conventional hotel accommodations but for those looking for more unique, local, and personal travel experiences.

There are a lot more examples here like the iPhone, Thaely shoes, Dyson Vacuum cleaners, etc.

5. “If all options appear equal, get more information”

This line from a recent read really got me thinking. As designers, we're often at the crossroads of critical decision-making. But what do we do when two options look equally good? It's easy to pass the buck to a committee or let the design director make the call. At least this is what I did for the longest time.

There's a big difference between quick decisions and right decisions. The right ones need time and the right information. So, here's a tip that might seem simple but is often overlooked:

If you're stuck between design choices that seem the same, you don’t have the right information. Dig deeper.