FEATURED ARTICLES
CHERYL KISER: SEEING, AND SHIFTING THE WORLD THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS
Cheryl Kiser has learned, from observing how others live in relationship, how human society works, and how she can use relationships to make it work better.
WHAT WE GET WHEN WE GIVE DESIGN AWAY
The foster care system in the U.S. has been described as a "highway to homelessness." Design can change that.
WHAT WOMEN ARE WORTH, 2022
A long time ago, at the start of my career, I was asked to speak at the national convention of the AIGA, the professional design association in the United States. Very specifically, the request was for me to speak about why women make less money than men. For whatever reason I was chosen to tackle this topic, and I’m still not sure why, it’s a subject that has stuck with me, followed me and haunted me. So I’m thinking about it here again.
TOP ARTICLES
Thoughts From a Young Designer on Learning to See
Thoughts from a young designer on how she learned to see.
Design for Bad
In the circles I swirl around in, “design for good” is a common expression. But why we need to qualify design for good as distinct from everything else we do is a big question.
HOW OUR OWN WORDS DEFEAT US
Hidden within the language we use is evidence of power hierarchies that prevent us from increasing social equity. Though a process of reflection we can improve outcomes by changing the words we use to describe them. This film condenses 6 years of doctoral research on the performative role language plays in social innovation.
Missing Voices
Dylan said we all “gotta serve somebody.” We can decide whom and what we serve through our choice of the words we listen to and the voices we hear.
A METAVERSE OF ONE'S OWN: THE EVIDENCE
I offer the photo essay that follows as momentary distraction from politics and social media, as inspiration for how to be playful again; to lose, and to find oneself in the infinitely fascinating goings-on in nature.
A Metaverse of One's Own
Our escape, from the demands and anxieties of quotidian life, will not come through the same screens that cause them. One needs to get out of one’s room.
SEEING THE OBVIOUS
I’ve heard people brag about their ability to see around corners but the real talent is to see what’s right in front of us. Orwell said it: “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” That's never been more important than it is now.
Putting the I back in team
Susan Cain’s article in the Times, “The Rise of the New Group Think” (Cain, 2012) was a breath of fresh air when I read it – like that moment of euphoria when someone sitting on the subway next to you spilling head-splitting bass ten feet in every direction through their ear buds gets off the train and leaves you with your own thoughts once again.
Learning from the folks we love to hate
We know that shifting perceptions and inspiring enlightened behavior are critical to our survival. A proven model for doing that has been hiding in plain sight for a very long time.
FORGET POVERTY. LET'S TALK ABOUT BUSINESS.
As health, economic and educational inequities escalate, Paul Polak's approach to life is as relevant today as it every was. He is still the best designer I ever knew. I wrote this essay for Unreasonable in 2015, four years before Paul died.
A few things every entrepreneur should know about communication
Money and technological innovation are considered essential to the successful launch of new enterprises, but the most important ingredient is often left out. Communication, and the relationships that result from it, are the single most critical factors in any endeavor, and are in fact essential to both innovation and capital.