Five inspiring TED Talks for Designers.
No matter what we do: UI/UX, Product, Fashion, or Industrial Design, we all sometimes need a muse or a source of inspiration.
Here I wanted to share the five TED talks about design and design-thinking methods that inspired me to become a designer (but also explain what’s going on in the world of design):
Dave Evans: Design your life
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Author of the book “Design Your Life” and a Professor at Stanford d.school, summarizes and highlights key points of the book in this talk. Ted Talk is about how to apply design-thinking principles to your career and personal life. Specifically in finding your dream job.
“As a life designer, you need to embrace two philosophies: 1. You choose better when you have lots of good ideas to choose from. 2. You never choose your first solution to any problem.”
As a UX designer, I know that during ideation process there are always so many solutions and I write down even most bizarre ones. Only after reviewing each idea and ranking them according to value and effort, I can choose most feasible solution to the problem. Also this book talks about how important it is to choose the right problem to work on.
- Tim Brown: Designers think big
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Tim Brown is a generous director of IDEO, a global design and consulting firm. He speaks about the value of design thinking, creative leadership, and innovation to business leaders and explains why it’s time to apply principles of true design (not decorating) in spheres like healthcare, education, security, and climate change. Good design solves problems.
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- Paul Bennett: Design is in the details
This video illustrates so well the importance of paying attention to details and empathy. Every single day, we take for granted so many small yet important details because we got used to them. Oh, this ATM machine doesn’t accept $5 bills, or there is no pause button in the Book player! These things could be opportunities for a business project! If you are on the verge of creating something, watch his talk.
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- David Kelley: How to build your creative confidence
What I love about David Kelley is his open-mindedness about creativity. Everyone is creative. Anyone can create. I think that really defines us as a human species: we can make something out of nothing! That’s what pushed me to challenge myself and get back to my creative roots. Has anyone ever told you that your drawing was ugly? But everyone praised Mark’s drawings in class? He was creative. And then you internalized the belief that you weren’t creative. David Kelley challenges that notion and shows you how you can apply your creativity to solve problems. Must watch for everyone (even if you are an Engineer, Recruiter, Data Analyst etc).
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- Yves Behar: Designing objects that tell stories
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Someone recommended this ted talk to me, which made me recall the quote “Advertisement — is the price companies pay for being unoriginal.” Yves emphasizes the idea that we need to create useful products for real people, not just something pretty.
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I hope you’ll learn something new from these TED talks and get inspired. It is Never Too Late to change your career. As Dave Evans says: “You are not too late, and you’re not too early.” You are just in time.
