A story in three parts — 1. Sylvia Harris and “Voting by Design” What do you remember about the 2000 U.S. presidential election? You know, the “hanging chads” election … ? Like many others, I was focused at the time on images of inspectors peering through magnifying glasses at ballots, trying to decipher voters’ intentions. Later I learned that the 2000 election was…

Ralph Caplan foretold UX. What would he think of Content Design? — Like so many who’ve been influenced by Ralph Caplan’s writing, I was immediately swept away by the wit and clarity with which he articulates design’s power and potential when I first read his essays on design. …

The act of storytelling strengthens empathy and provides perspective on how objects are imbued with meaning — (A version of this article first appeared in the Winter 2016 issue of Innovation, the quarterly of the Industrial Design Society of America.) Ten grad students sit around a long table in a glass-walled room at the University of Pennsylvania’s shiny new Education Commons. Along with the expected laptops and…