David Ewald is the Chief Design Officer at Uncorked Studios in Portland, OR. Last Thursday, Ewald visited with our class to discuss some of his more recent work, as well as his past experiences and all of the wisdom gained in between.
“Everyone is a designer.” Ewald made this statement very clear during the first few opening minutes of his lecture. To put it into perspective, Ewald highlighted the ‘norms of design’ – from takeout menus, shipping packages, kiosk stands and furniture arrangements, design is all around us in both obvious and inconspicuous forms. Even if the design goes unnoticed, it still plays part in affecting our attitude. When approaching any task with design in mind, it is important to approach it from the position of a “resolver,” or as Ewald describes it, “… [getting] behind the scenes…. [thinking] about how people will experience things.”
Designers should be constantly tracking their respective industry in the search for the next big innovation. Ewald solidified this with a story; in 2007, Apple introduced the first-generation iPhone and to say it turned heads would be an understatement. Being the first smartphone on the market, there was still a ton of untapped potential waiting to be discovered. In walks Nike Golf with the first mobile-friendly website; something considered normal today was only a few years prior considered revolutionary, beautiful and enjoyable. “It starts with the unknown,” said Ewald.
“Design is the method of putting form and content together.” – Paul Rand
Designers should be fearless creators, and while innovating the unknown, it is crucial that designers be reorienting around purpose – that is what Brian Whipple discussed in his article, It’s Time to Stop Waiting for Permission to Create Timely Customer Experiences That Resonate. Organizations and individuals should be concerned with their brand purpose and Corporate Social Responsibility; furthermore, innovations do not necessarily need to change the world to be great, but rather create meaningful consumer experiences. In summary, Whipple states that “… companies that strive to bring more meaning and purpose to the experiences they create are destined to reap big business benefits in the form of loyalty, positive word of mouth, increased revenue and sustained success.”
Along with the Demystifying Media series, I am currently enrolled in Strategic Communication Law with Professor Kyu Ho Youm at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. Following the aftermath of Facebook’s data leak, the fine line between public and private life, as well as the laws that govern the two, has been an increasingly important topic to track. In an article published by the Columbia Journalism Review back in 2003, Felix Salmon discussed how Google Glass – if it not had flopped as hard as it did – had the potential to alter the societal norms about what is public and what is private. Salmon exemplifies the automobile and how, when it was first introduced, dramatically changed societal norms surrounding public roads. Beyond consumer experience, design and innovation can have a substantial impact on the world.
https://archives.cjr.org/the_audit/how_technology_redefines_norms.php