CONNECTING THE DOTS

Is what design is meant for!

The Phrase

Connecting the dots means

to understand the relationship between different ideas or experiences

I have met a fair share of entrepreneurs, investors, and philosophers over the past 5 years. (Let’s call them thinkers for the sake of this post). The majority of these thinkers having great complex ideas that are either currently making money, or has the potential to make money in the future. I continue to find it interesting that the thinkers I meet have great ideas that can make good profit, but with the right amount of tinkering(design), their ideas can make an impact as well. I have met several thinkers that have built amazing concepts that was meant for one reason only and often times… it’s the wrong reason. Their concepts made a little money, but did not not sustain because it had little to no actual impact. When users realize this they become more reluctant to use your concept no matter how cool it is. That’s not to say their ideas did not have potential, but their ideas did not have the right application (impact). Without the proper application these ideas are just dots in a pool of many.

Polka dots

Noun

one of a number of large round dots repeated to form a regular pattern

Have you ever questioned how you remember things? How does your arms and legs move at your will? Your mind & body is made up of polka dots. Each of these dots are like ideas that has their own function and cause. However, each dot in your body developed their function and cause in relation to the other dots in your body. The result is a product that is flexible enough to allow you to apply it however you see fit. If you ever question why connecting the dots are important just think about your mind & body. Could you imagine if the dots in your body did not have a relationship with each other? Your arm would not be able to move every time you request for your brain to tell it to. You would not be able to operate on a day to day basis.

Today

Adverb

on or in the course of this present day.

Today our world resembles the body with dots that has little to no relationship with each other. It’s okay though, it’s not the end of the world. To simply put it, we have so much shit to get together. We live in a world filled with millions of polka dots (ideas or dreams). Let’s start connecting these dots! Please. Let’s use Henry Ford and the automobile as an example of connecting the dots and the benefits that it brought our world. Henry Ford was a designer. He did not create the idea of the car, Henry could not actually build an engine. He was a man that simply connected dots. Now, I want you to ask yourself a few questions.

•Is a car easy and enjoyable to use?

•Does a car increase your ability as a human being?

•Does a car play an important role in your life or the life of someone you know?

•Are cars still very much relevant today?

•Do you or someone you know have any fond memories created while in the car ?

•Has people been able to make money or concepts off the backbone of a car?

Karl Benz thought of the idea and Henry Ford found the right application for it. Try replacing the word car with a few products or services you use on a regular basis. Try it with ones that are frustrating and ones that are not frustrating. I will wait… those answers become a little more blurry don’t they? Imagine a world where everything you use and interact with connected the dots like a car does. The job of a designer is to take a thinkers idea and make it as relatable as a car.

Dear Thinkers & Designers

Noun

A group of people that is responsible for making tomorrow a brighter day

The relationship between a thinker and designer is a sacred one. I was not around during the creation of the Egyptian pyramids, but I can imagine that it was conceptualized by a thinker and brought to life by a team of designers. A good designer has to connect the dots. A good designer understands the relationship between the:

•idea and user

•idea and task

•idea and ability

•idea and economy

•idea and lifestyle

•idea and emotion

•idea and time period

•idea and impact

•idea and idea

Through understanding these relationships a designer can effectively find the perfect application for an idea. If it was up to me one would not be judged by race, sex, age, height, or economic status because in reality there are only two types of people.. thinkers and designers… Even though their roles are different they are both of equal value and must work together in order to accomplish anything. Our thinkers envision something and our designers make that vision come to life. We already discussed the importance of the thinker in relation to connecting the dots, but to just reiterate. Thinkers are the ones that create the dots. The designer’s role is to connect the dots. Now that we know the two types of people and what their roles are, lets create a brighter tomorrow with one another. A world that is safe, sustainable, scalable, beautiful, and most importantly,

connected.