Keep calm, ego. I’m about to design
Navigating your creativity and rationality in one minute of theory (and a lifetime of practice).
By Jimena González, Strategic Designer at Idean Spain
There are two sides to design, and they are not as opposite as they appear to be
I have come to realize that design is quite difficult to define. In fact, I asked some close friends and none of their answers matched.
My friend Gema (chef) said: “design is reaching novelty”; my friend Cris (consultant and musician): “it’s shaping an idea so that it can be shared”; my cousin Ines (nurse): “a design is a solution”; my friend Maria (engineer): “design makes everyday life easier and more beautiful”.
The most accepted definition among designers understands design as the creative process of finding a solution that satisfies a need.
For me, it is the encounter between two worlds that seem to be opposite: the logical-rational and the intangible-inventive. In other words, design is dual, in a way that reminds me of a famous concept from ancient Chinese philosophy: the yin yang, which describes how forces that seem to be opposites are actually complementary and interconnected; they even enhance each other.
Design thinking reflects this dual nature of design in its diamonds, alternating phases of divergence, creativity without judgment and generation of alternatives; with phases of convergence, evaluation of alternatives and selection based on objective criteria.
Design is not magic (trick revealed)
So who can be a designer? It is quite likely that, if you are reading this, you are a human being and, therefore, possess a brain with two distinct hemispheres. That is, your brain is also dual, and this (and this is, of course, my personal opinion) makes you fit to be a designer.
“The most exciting breakthroughs of the twenty-first century will not occur because of technology, but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.”
John Naisbitt
The right hemisphere of your brain is part of the creative world. It is related to intuition, subjectivity, and tacit knowledge. It is capable of understanding symbolism, discontinuity, the non-verbal. It can relate crazy concepts, create original alternatives and imagine new realities.
The left hemisphere controls logic, rationality. It is analytical, objective, intellectual and orderly. It knows how to organize, evaluate, compare and decide.
Although new research shows that the hemisphere model does not reflect neurological reality with great fidelity, it does illustrate that we all have both polarities within us.
Perhaps I have already convinced you of your innate ability to design, that you have what it takes. You have the two main ingredients, but where is the recipe?
How to be a bad designer for dummies
I still haven’t found the final recipe for a good designer (maybe there isn’t a single one), but I have found the key to being a bad one: ego. As my colleague Frank (UX narrative) says, “Always be like Batman, just not when you design. The designer should never be the protagonist”.
Now, it is a real challenge to overcome the demands of our ego, but even more so in the work scenario. In companies, our ego has come to the throne, and some symptoms of this are competitiveness, attachment to results and fear of failure or not being enough.
And the paradox is that the ego, no matter how hard it tries, does not bring us closer to perfection; rather, the tension it imposes prevents us from flowing towards the expression of our real talent, both individually and collectively.
It’s like trying to sleep. You turn off the light and start telling yourself “I should fall asleep now, because if I don’t, I won’t get enough rest. I have an important meeting tomorrow and I should be rested or else I’ll have a hard time staying focused. I have to fall asleep as soon as possible to be at my best”. You will probably start tossing and turning in bed, with growing concern, because the strong desire to go to sleep is precisely what is troubling you and preventing you from falling asleep.
The same thing happens in the design process: the more we try to force a fantastic result, the more it slips through our fingers.
“What happens at the beginning of any creative process? Nothing! Creativity requires that we create space and wait for something to emerge.”
Otto Scharmer
What I propose is to relax the ego with silence. Silence as space between sounds, as solitude between moments of companionship, as a pause between activities, allowing us to absorb ourselves in deep listening.
Inner listening, creating a space of self discovery that allows the birth of a higher self-awareness. In this space, our thoughts and emotions arise freely, without judgment; and the balance between production and inspiration is achieved effortlessly.
And listening outward, as an opportunity for present and shared perception by the team that makes the design process flow, oscillating between its two polarities without the need for a fixed method.
