We owe it not only to ourselves but to the world to preserve our democracy and its freedoms, and we can do it by thinking our problems through calmly and sanely. We cannot do it if we become hysterical and frightened. … We must do all we can to prevent the rise of racial or religious hatred in this country. And I feel that much of this calm assurance of spirit must come from the women. It is obvious to me that this is a long-time job and it will require the cooperation of men, women, and young people all over this country. It may seem to you that a racial or religious prejudice which does not touch you is something about which you need not concern yourself. But unfortunately, these prejudices do not stay within the bounds of any one category. The feeling spreads and one prejudice engenders another, and a people soon find themselves a prey to fears of all kinds.
_Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt’s Own Program_, June 20, 1940
Software demands more creative discipline than hardware, because so much discipline is baked into the nature of creating hardware. Hardware instills discipline in people; people must instill discipline into software.
At least they admit that if elsewhere in the universe there were people like our rulers and exploiters here on Earth, well, they’d be people to stay away from.
So many of the designers that we interview don’t know how to make stuff. Because workshops in design schools are expensive and computers are cheaper. A computer rendering can make a really dreadful design look palatable.
That’s just tragic, that you can spend four years of your life studying the design of three dimensional objects and not make one. It’s great if the ultimate result was to be a graphic image, that’s fine. But how on earth can you do that if what you’re responsible to produce is a three dimensional object?
Carte des communications rapides entre Paris et le reste de la France (Map of travel times from Paris to the rest of France) E. Martin & E. Chevaillier, 1882)
“Good inventors and designers deeply understand their customer. They spend tremendous energy developing that intuition. They study and understand many anecdotes rather than only the averages you’ll find on surveys. They live with the design.
I’m not against beta testing or surveys. But you, the product or service owner, must understand the customer, have a vision, and love the offering. Then, beta testing and research can help you find your blind spots. A remarkable customer experience starts with heart, intuition, curiosity, play, guts, taste. You won’t find any of it in a survey.”
