Design is a topic on everyone’s mind and will remain so in the coming years. According to the dictionary, the word originally comes from the Latin verb designare, meaning“to mark out, point out, devise, choose, designate, or appoint”. Additionally, it has roots in signare, meaning“to mark,” from signum, meaning“identifying, marking, or sign.” French adopted both these senses from Italian in different forms and passed them to English, which usesthe term in all senses. It has been used since the 1540s to mean “to plan or outline, form a scheme,” and since 1703 to mean “to contrive for a purpose.” The transitive sense of “draw the outline or figure of,” especially for a proposed work, appears from the 1630s, while the meaning “plan and execute, fashion with artistic skill” dates from the 1660s. The intransitive sense of “do original work in a graphic or plastic art” goes back to 1854. Initially, design was all about devising, and the artistic aspect of signing or drawing was incorporated later on.
“The purpose of a business is to create and maintain a customer.” This quote is how Peter Drucker once summed up the purpose of a business. Although this saying has fallen out of fashion in some circles, it still holds: business focuses not on creating a product or service but on building close relationships between people and the company. Only when the service is used can a business be considered a business. So, everything that happens before that is, in the truest sense of the word, “advance payment” and, therefore, not yet a business.
Wow, even the mainstream is picking up on the effect of strategic design! Check out this episode.
Oh, not that you wonder and cannot find the two and their show. The entire podast was generated by AI, based on a paper I wrote on design capability in companies.
When does a musician decide whether they prefer to perform or to compose? Is it a decision of the head or the gut, or do genetics determine which path the musician takes? The fact is that, with a few exceptions, they will either take one direction or the other. It is also a fact that most musicians will make a living as performers.
Last year I was invited to talk at a great conference in Slovenia. My Keynote: The role of design innovation in facing business and societal challenges. Check it out!
The designer and podcaster Sebastian Gier asked me some intriguing questions on design, business, purpose and meaning. Luckily he recorded our conversation! I think it’s one of the best podcasts so far and it reveals some insight into how design and business can come together in a meaningful way.
A long, deep interview that Arne van Oosterom recorded with we, about being in bubbles, being between sides and going into industrial design, to pick up a career at Philips. And a lot about Philips!
Balance is a state that people perceive as an ideal of particular attractiveness. If something is evenly distributed, in balance, then we attach a high value to it. Equilibrium of forces, of markets, of forms and structures, of opinions or even of values in themselves, is something “beautiful”. It is not without reason that Justicia carries a scale with which she can ensure that the facts can be weighed – in balance, and therefore just.
A recording of my speech at the TIDE conference, January 2018. A short introduction to what Design Thinking is, and how it is best enabled in organizations!
Recently I took the tour again: a bus took us to the outskirts of Eindhoven where a deserted and ran-down warehouse was hosting the graduation show of the Design Academy. A dark, huge space filled with dramatically lit exhibits of student work and many, many people wandering around, observing the work with a mixture of interest, curiosity, and disbelief.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the show: almost two hundred students were apparently graduating and showcasing their stuff.
Two things immediately came to my mind: what the heck are they showing here and where the heck do these graduates want to pick up a job?
