Design: The Art of Solving Problems
…in what felt like one of the most dreaded moments of my entire life, the door flung open unexpectedly, and there I was, staring at her… pants down!
Sometime last month, I visited a restaurant that I had heard so much about for such a long time, long before I moved to Lagos. As expected, what I saw in person paled in comparison to what Instagram had filled my imaginations with. But that’s okay, I thought, most places look better in pictures, anyway.
It wasn’t long after I settled in, that my overactive bladder yanked me up to go find “convenience”. I got into the restroom and before I knew it, my bowels joined to terrorize me. So, there I was, sitting on my “throne”, trying to hastily take care of business, so I could to return to my date (who happens to be my wife) before Lagos men will suffocate her with stares — I mean, I won’t blame them too much, she’s breathtaking. But I digress.
Suddenly, in what felt like one of the most dreaded moments of my entire life, the door flung open unexpectedly, and there I was, staring at her… pants down! My heart skipped too many beats in a split second at the embarrassment I felt by being found in such a lowly and compromised situation. But as I caught my gasping breath, I looked up and saw my wife, Ifenkili, gazing at me (with those beautiful eyes of hers). She’d come to check on me, and quite frankly, was also trying to escape the stares she had been battling since I left.
What if it wasn’t Ifenkili that opened that door? What if it was a total stranger that “caught” me in that position? Would my life ever remain the same? Yes, you could say I am being dramatic, but that was how I felt. It was bad enough that I didn’t know the lock was faulty, but at least, if the door opened inwards and not outwards, I could have easily pushed back and prevented all that drama.
That is what comes to my mind when I think about Design and how it can be used to solve problems. It starts with asking the right questions. What if the person who designed that restroom thought about the fact that my life could have ended that day? What if they put themselves in my shoes as I sat there, helpless? I reckon if they had, they would have thought that it would be better to design a restroom door so that it’s opened by pushing inside and not out. Seems like common sense, but it is anything but common.
Asking the right questions leads to solving problems that prevent shitty situations. It’s interesting to think about the fact that Design could have solved my problem. It makes me wonder what else design can solve. Many things, I reckon. Like if this restaurant (which I swore never to return to) thought about ways to improve their customer service, they could have included a feature that lets me place my order ahead of arrival, thereby saving time, and more so, ensuring I don’t die of hunger.
See? That’s Design, the art of problem-solving. But even describing it as that seems a bit limiting. I am starting to believe that Design is more than problem solving.
There’s no aspect of life Design can’t come in. Whether it is protecting the dignity of a gentleman like myself, or helping him preserve his home-training by making food available on time, Design is truly all that. It is wholly invested in solving the everyday problems of diverse users. At the heart of that, however, it does so much more. Like Dennis Hambeukers said:
“Design is making the world more beautiful.”🤸🏽
