Designer’s pledge
If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design — Dr. Ralf Speth.
In conversation with Vikram Gahlot
He asks me, “Kedar, suppose there is this persona, all naturally gifted to do sales. He understands all aspects of business and is an excellent marketeer. Someone like Richard Brandson or Dhirubahi Ambani. But he doesn’t have an MBA degree. Would you hire such an extremely talented person to run your business?”,
I said, “Yes, of course”.
He continued, “Suppose, I have a very close friend who is naturally very talented as a surgeon. He does minor operations if needed. Let's say, it's his hobby. Of course, he doesn’t have an MBBS or any medical degree. He has never gone to medical school. Would you like to go to him for your surgery, if God forbid, ever?”
The answer was “Never”!
“So, some subjects are difficult to get corrupted. In the production-oriented education of people…” he took a short pause “I am sounding like a leftist here… maybe, let’s take this offline.” He winks.
“Education is like nurturing a plant. You water them, give required nutrients, and place them in good climatic conditions and sunlight. Let them grow organically. You can't go about clipping leaves or painting leaves. You can't have batches of trees being produced. But this ‘batch’ philosophy, was it there earlier? I am not saying it was all rosy in the past and the present is all bad. Real craft existed yesterday and it exists today also. But one problem that has happened due to the industrial revolution, humanities have increasingly taken a backseat. Certain subjects are glorified while certain are not.”
I was curious to know where this was heading.
“Kedar, do you think we are living in special times?”
I said, “Yes. We have airplanes, nuclear bombs, and most importantly the internet…”
He cuts me and said “So science and technology, this is the age, right? Even within communication, there are the art and sciences of it. You have to look at the two sides of it, and one side is crippled without the other. So today, probably with the production approach, there is a wall that has been created between the two.”
He went on a tangent as usual “I would love to recommend a book here. ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’. By Robert M Pirsig…” Then he continued at length talking about internships, apprenticeships, Guru Shishya Parampara, and more. You can listen to the insightful, enriching, and entertaining conversation here - Part 1 and Part 2.
Why did I share the above? Each profession is designed for something. I am a designer. But I never went to a design school. Is schooling required to understand design or professional courses are good enough? Can Youtube channels or Coursera-type platforms make you a good designer? I don’t have an answer. My immediate reaction is no. But, yes, provided they are designed much more holistically. They cover wider aspects of design such as ethics.
In this startup world, a designer’s job has become all the more important. Design is a big job. It encompasses multitudes. It’s also a political act. You take sides. We choose whom we design for and also take conscious calls of ignoring the edge cases. Facebook has 2+ Billion users. If they ignore 1%, it’s 20 million. Which is perhaps, New York or Mumbai. As Victor Papanek once said, “You are responsible for what you put into the world. And you are responsible for the effect those things have upon the world.”
We need to be constantly reflecting back on what we are doing as a designer - both individually and as a team. - Referring back to Vikram
I agree with Mike Monteiro (not on all levels). He says, “We need to have 2 words in our dictionary, “NO and WHY”. We need to have an agency to say “No” of course after knowing the ‘Why’. Why are we doing this? What’s the goal? As he says, “We need to Slow. The. Fuck. Down.” We are shipping products and features faster than laying off people - maybe not true anymore. But still, you got the drift?
It should freak you out that gangsters can agree on a code of behavior but designers can’t. Crime is more organized than design. - Mike Monteiro in his book “Ruined by Design”
Inspired by this quote, I have come up with a “Designer’s Pledge”. Prior to commencing a professional path, medical practitioners and legal professionals are obligated to solemnly swear an oath or pledge, devoting themselves to the service of others. I firmly advocate that designers, from interior to UI and UX to industrial and all - should embrace a comparable practice. The pledge is based on India’s National Pledge.
Designer’s pledge.
________ is my company/client. All users are my users. I love my users very much and I care about their life, varied interest, and aspirations. I shall always strive to be worthy of it. I shall make products that are clean, green, and friendly. To my users and all potential users, I pledge my devotion to making well-designed products & in their prosperity lies my happiness. I will always strive to make the product less addictive, and more productive. I will be ethical and work hard to minimize its long-term implications on the human mind, society, and environment. I shall not ship shit.
- Designer
This post is inspired by Mike Monteiro & Vikram Ghalot. Please read the book also. I found an interesting article which is “Review of the Book” by Natacha Oliveira.
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