When I was a kid, they dropped people on the moon for the first time ever, and I witnessed it all live on b&w television. I also witnessed that they dropped bombs on people living in sheds, in countries far away, and that students, because of that, were revolting and were throwing stones at the police. Disturbing pictures, but also strong visions of a better society, with technology that would solve all problems and that seem to imply a brighter future lying ahead. At the end of the ’60s, the future could only be better than the present!
Do you have leadership skills? If not, it’s going to be tough in the future, because next to professional specialists (like electricians and plumbers), the economy is after ‘leaders’! Given the many wicked problems facing us, it takes true leaders to guide us into a better future. more…
We all want superstars, supermodels – or an ‘idol’!
Millions of TV viewers are following seemingly ordinary people in their battle against competition and aim to shine in the limelight – and with that to gain fame and fortune! It seems to be irrelevant what these people actually do; they just have to convince ‘the jury’ with features others don’t have: if you’re not the prettiest, then be the ugliest; if you can’t sing like Pavarotti, why not name the cat food brand by sniffing at your kitties’ poo? To be at the top of the ladder, it’s essential to be unique and deliver uniqueness; it doesn’t matter if the uniqueness doesn‘t add to anything; it just has to add to yourself. more…
How great that we have a designer who can view the issue from another angle and generate new, relevant insights, isn’t it?
True, not only designers can do that – it just needs a design thinking, which is driven by curiosity and empathy, and wants to improve the existing for the better – and frankly, this can be done by all of us, in principle. But what you have to bring along for the ‘better’ to truly be perceived as such by others is a creative and empathetic mind that can envision how this ‘better’ will take shape and have the desired impact on others. This poses that such a beautiful mind is not within everyone’s reach… more…
It was a terrifying sight: a clutter of cables, tubes, and pipes was hanging down from the ceiling and gave the scenery the impression of a torture chamber, just like you know from these old b&w horror movies – hello from Dr. Frankenstein!
Somehow, it seemed that the grim atmosphere had no influence on the personnel working there: they were completely focused on preparing the patient for an intervention. As I had still to learn: with ‘the patient’ they were referring to the medical case, and not necessarily to the person himself – a subtle but crucial difference. more…
It was one of these design events, like many others in Germany: after the panelists had given their speeches, it was time for the Q&A! Finally, the audience had the chance to express their opinions, and some immediately took the opportunity. It was just a question of minutes for the question to be asked – the one on the status of design within companies! more…
Desperately but somewhat clueless, he was trying to unlock the entrance door with his ID card – like all of us, he had this plastic card on a practical belt clip – but the door didn’t open. I released him from this hopeless situation by opening the door with my personal card and letting him in. It was quite obvious that he was a colleague from within the company, and as it turned out, he was actually looking for me. “Why are the doors locked for company employees?” he immediately wanted to know. “Isn’t there a control right at the main entrance?” more…
Now, after many years of collaboration, I can say for sure that he’s truly favorably impressed: by design, and by designers. I would even assume that he secretly admires us, the designers.
His initially reserved and rejective stance against any member of the ‘design-species’ was resulting from, what I believe, the awareness that he could never do what designers do, but designers might be able to do, what he’s doing – at least if they wanted to… and luckily enough, they didn’t! more…
It’s the time of year, so I was strolling the local Christmas market and passed by a craftsman weaving a basket. Somehow, I was instantly impressed and stood still, observing the basket-maker: his movements were swift and confident, and he even managed to hold a conversation with other observers whilst craftily weaving this basket. All of a sudden, he paused – he was about halfway finished with his piece – as if he felt something was not right: and indeed, the basketwork at the bottom had a different color from the one at the top, also the braid seemed thinner. So he pulled it all apart and started over. Upon which an old lady couldn’t resist and mentioned how pitiful this was, and that she’d never noticed, and that he was almost finished anyway. “Dear Madam, he replied, you have to this work with conviction!” Baskets, he added, should only be sold if they’re tip-top. “If you can improve, you have to improve, even if it means starting all over. You can’t sell inferior crap!” he finished off in a truly convincing manner and continued weaving. The older lady patiently waited until he was done, then bought the basket. more…
He was truly ‘special’, to say it mildly… but actually he was a true choleric, hysteric and narcissistic person, narrow-minded, unforgiving and pungent according to many, many others. He would not let loose; he could be rude, direct, and insensitive, but most of all, he was obsessive – everything he did, and equally all others did for him, had to be perfect, nothing less. It had to be insanely great. more…