Slow Design
Experience immersion & contemplation
I’ve been interested in the concept of Wabi-Sabi for some time now, so running into the concept of “slow design” was exciting for me.
Slow design means enabling people to spend the appropriate amount of time to truly engage with what they are doing. It’s all about bringing focus to the task at hand, getting rid of distractions, enabling deep concentration and the discovery of greater insights through timely reveal:
“To promote slowness or what we call ‘Slow design’ as a positive catalyst of individual, socio-cultural and environmental well-being…. Slowness doesn’t refer to how long it takes to make or do something. Rather, it describes an expanded state of awareness, accountability for daily actions, and the potential for a richer spectrum of experience for individuals and communities.” (SlowLab)
It’s easier to explain with an example: a ceramic designer, Simon Heijdens creates dishes and cups that are plain white and erode over time, as people use them. They reveal cracks in the glaze and a flower pattern emerges:
This work to me is deeply inspiring and unspeakably beautiful.
This is quite a new departure from a world where everything is about being fast. We’re often trying to design ways to consume information as quickly and efficiently as possible, to get stuff done, to move on to the next thing…We’ve trained our brains to multitask and many of us spend all day chasing tomorrow in a fog of confusion and anxiety.
It’s no surprise to me that there’s growing interest in meditation and mindfulness. Some of us are realising that the way we’re living is not working for us. We’re starting to entertain the idea of slowing down and moving forwards with greater satisfaction. Caring about what we’re doing right now. Being attuned to detail and richness of each moment. And now we’re starting to question how we consume our entire lives.
This calls for a change in how we design experiences:
Don’t race me to the checkout in less than 2mins, help me question what I’m buying this for, and whether it’s the right thing. Don’t give me a snapshot of all the news that might interest me today. Give me 3 stories that will change me for the better. Don’t give me productivity tools that will help me fit in more activities that waste my life. Help me see that there are better ways to spend that time.
The 6 principles of Slow Design are:
Reveal: reveal spaces & experience in every day life that are often missed or forgotten.
Expand: consider the real and potential “expressions” of artefacts and environments beyond their perceived functionality, physical attributes or lifespans.
Reflect: induce contemplation and reflective consumption.
Engage: collaborative and “open source”, relying on sharing, cooperation and transparency of information so that designs may evolve in future.
Participate: encourage people to become active participants in the design process.
Evolve: recognise that richer experiences can emerge from the dynamic maturation of artefacts and environments over time.
As a community of designers in the software industry, can we apply these principles to our work, so we can influence people to lead richer, more nourishing and rewarding lives?
