DNF Round up #3

Hi Friends! Welcome to the 12 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. The Customization Revolution: Why Personalized 3D Printed Upgrades are the Future

2. Why do we want our robots to look like humans?

3. 3 Unique Ventures in the Coffee World

4. The Cell Phone Market is Going Through A Midlife Crisis

5. The Democratization of Filmmaking

⚡ Tips

1. Incorporating Cultural Probes

Cultural probes are packages given to participants, which typically consist of a collection of tasks, tools, and requests. These might include:

• Diaries or journals to fill in

• Disposable cameras with instructions on what to photograph

• Maps to annotate

• Postcards with provocative questions

• Audio recording devices or cell phones

But what’s the purpose?

1. Inspirational Data: Instead of definitive answers, probes aim for data that sparks creativity.

2. Understanding Context: They provide insights into participants' daily lives, environments, and routines.

3. Participant Empowerment: Participants become co-researchers, choosing what and how to share.

4. Ambiguity: Results are open-ended, inviting varied interpretations and thereby allowing creative ideas.

So why am I sharing this age old method as a tip? You see, being an Indian Designer in the US, my biggest gripe is that the western world doesn’t entirely understand the eastern world. I want to encourage you to loop in culture studies as a given when doing design research.

Designers, like all individuals, have inherent biases. Cultural probes, by offering raw insights from diverse users, can help in mitigating design decisions based purely on a designer's personal experiences or assumptions. Check out this old video for a quick overview of what these probes could look like. Now, don’t aim for a rigid set of conclusions at the end of this exercise - like I said before, this method paints a broad holistic view of how another individual sees the world, thereby building greater empathy.

2. Shaping Creative Briefs

A small tip this week for people that regularly deal with creative briefs from clients.

“If it’s not defined enough, ask what.

If it’s too defined, ask why.”

You want to challenge your clients to give you enough constraints to define your playfield but at the same time, you need to have enough freedom to exercise your creativity.

When the brief is too vague - ask what questions. What is the purpose, what have you done so far? What does the market look like?

When the brief is too defined, ask why questions. Why did you settle on this? Why do you think it’s important? Why did you not include x?

3. Telling Stellar Design Stories Through Montage Editing

A quick tip to tell better design stories. I am borrowing this idea from the film industry.

Your design process story needs montage editing.

"Montage" is a French word meaning "assembly" or "editing." In cinematic terms, a montage refers to a sequence of shots that are edited together to convey a specific idea or emotion.

Montage editing often compresses time and space, conveying a lot of information or emotion in a short duration. A classic example is the "training montage" in sports films, where a series of shots show the protagonist training over days or weeks, but the sequence only lasts a few minutes.

Sergei Eisenstein, a pioneering Soviet filmmaker and film theorist, described five methods of montage in his writings:

1. Metric Montage: Based on the absolute length of clips, without regard to the content.

2. Rhythmic Montage: Incorporates the content of the shots, where the visuals create a rhythmic pattern, often tied to movement or actions within the shots.

3. Tonal Montage: The emotional meaning of the shots takes precedence. The emotional tone or resonance of each shot is what determines its place in the sequence.

4. Thematic Montage: Also known as "overtonal" or "associational" montage, it creates more complex themes and concepts by building on the previous three methods.

5. Intellectual Montage: This is where the concept of "collision" becomes vital. By juxtaposing two unrelated shots, a new, third idea is generated in the viewer's mind. This collision of independent shots to create a new concept is the essence of intellectual montage

Montage editing and the theory of collision were revolutionary in their time and continue to influence filmmakers and editors today.

You'll want to leverage this framework for your storytelling. For example, when discussing and recapping your design iterations, consider the visuals you wish to display (renderings, animations, videos) to create a rhythm. You story telling can be rhythmic too. This Google ad is a perfect example of that. Another great example of this is the Don’t Blink ad by Apple.

Personally, I have started turning to film and music for a lot of good story telling advice.

4. Intuition + Logic = Magic

I have been doing a lot of reading lately on creativity and here’s a thought that I want to echo from my learnings.

Use intuition to guess the right problem and the right solution, and then employ logic to prove it.

Intuition is an inherent ability to grasp or comprehend something without conscious reasoning. It emerges from our past experiences, observations, and subconscious insights. This intuitive sense is vital in situations demanding prompt decisions, such as a filmmaker selecting a shot based on a gut feeling. Moreover, intuition connects deeply with our emotional reactions, super important in fields like design where understanding human emotions is key.

On the other hand, Logic offers a systematic approach to thinking, enabling us to dissect situations, weigh options, and forecast results grounded in data and rationality. It serves as a tool to authenticate our intuitive notions; for example, a marketer might sense that a campaign will strike a chord with the audience, but would employ logical methods like market research to confirm this intuition. More importantly, logic will identify and sidestep any cognitive biases, ensuring our decisions are well-informed and objective.

Now when they come together, real magic happens.

In real life, most decisions aren't purely logical but are deeply influenced by psychological factors. While logic might suggest that a product's value is directly related to its price or inherent qualities, our psycho-logic (Thanks, Rory Sutherland) might derive value from other factors like scarcity, branding, or social validation. For instance, a luxury product might not be inherently better than a cheaper alternative, but our perception of its value is elevated because of the brand's reputation, the product's scarcity, or the social status it confers.

Think about this in your design practice. Don’t let your ideas die because they aren’t backed by logic. Apple’s 1st iPhone didn’t come from any logical reason but just a genius with a strong intuition and even better story-telling skills.

The logic will back itself into place.

5. Choose the Right Buttons

Here is a quick tip to help you when designing buttons - for both physical and digital interfaces.

Physical Buttons: A Tactile Experience

Physical buttons are tactile guides for users. Protruding buttons, with their inviting design, naturally encourage pressing due to their noticeable presence and easy accessibility. They are often used for functions that are frequently accessed, such as volume control or channel selection. (or eg. the X,Y,A,B buttons on an XBOX controller.) The tactile feedback and ease of use make them user-friendly and intuitive.

Conversely, recessed buttons are typically designed to prevent accidental presses, safeguarding critical functions like power on/off or system resets. Their intentional design requires a deliberate action to activate, ensuring that users consciously engage with them, minimizing the risk of unintended consequences. Material, size, and resistance are also crucial in physical button design, ensuring they are durable and responsive while providing satisfactory tactile feedback.

The harder a button is to get to, the greater the consequence.

Digital Buttons: A Visual Interaction

Digital buttons, while lacking tactile feedback, communicate through visual cues and design principles. Rounded corners, for instance, are not just aesthetically pleasing but also convey a sense of safety and ease, as they are softer and less aggressive to the eyes. They are often utilized in user interfaces where a friendly, approachable design is desired. (eg. Spotify’s call to action buttons)

However, placing rounded buttons in a horizontal arrangement can resemble filters or tabs, potentially causing confusion.

In contrast, square or rectangular buttons, especially with sharp edges, can communicate precision and formality. They are often used in professional or desktop applications where information density and function prioritization are key. (eg. tools in Adobe Photoshop).

This is a great short read on why we read sharp and round shapes so differently.