I’m currently re-reading this book called, “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future” by Peter Thiel. There is a chapter on it that I’ve been thinking about heavily. It’s called, “You Are Not A Lottery Ticket”, specifically the part about the return of design.
Mr. Thiel wrote:
“Anyone who has held an iDevice or a smoothly machined MacBook has felt the result of Steve Job’s obsession with visual and experiential perfection. But the most important lesson to learn from Jobs has nothing to do with aesthetics. The greatest thing Jobs designed was his business. Apple imagined and executed definite multi-year plans to create new products and distribute them effectively. Forget ‘minimum viable products’—ever since he started Apple in 1976, Jobs saw that you can change the world through careful planning, not by listening to focus group feedback or copying others’ successes.”
The words ‘Nothing to do with aesthetics’, as it is used here, thrilled me. It’s the most intriguing idea, if you think about it. Steve Jobs valued the full experience of design, even before it was the norm, and turned it into a billion-dollar company. There’s no doubt about it, he was ahead of his time, and for that, he has all my respects.
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. - Steve Jobs
By this logic, design is everything. Everything is designed. Gone are the days where we are measured by how perfect our grids are, how spectacular our typeface choices are or how well can we absurdly defend the worship of Helvetica. Designing for experiences is the future. With this exciting transformation, our tools and mindsets should evolve just as well.
But no matter what, our north star should always be people.
Design with humans, in mind. Not just awards, or prestige of fellow designers. If you think about it, we will never run out of things to do. For just as the world is increasingly becoming more and more complex, the opposite should be for the experience of it.
The hardest questions to ponder leave a lot of room for design to contribute, and I firmly believe we can make a difference. For as long as we constantly go back to these things that matter above all: experience, human, and innovation.
Some questions I’m personally thinking about:
How might we effectively raise kids in the age of AI?
How might we transform education and innovate with the needs of both the student and the teacher in mind?
How might we train the next generation for the jobs that does not exist yet?
How might we encourage a better and more sustainable growth mindset without sacrificing our mental and physical health?
How might we bring out the genius in each and every one of us, regardless of what age or stage we are in?
How might we live in a world where contribution is abundant, and the contributors are diverse, and inclusive?
How might we eradicate hopelessness in society by spearheading optimistic, and revolutionary changes in every area of how we live?
How might we raise a generation of makers, doers and extraordinary people who can turn a lot of things around?
I said this for the very first time during my talk at UX Camp Chicago: Winter Edition (Thank you Russ, Nicole, and team and my fellow speakers as well as attendees!):
“Now more than ever, we could use all of the optimistic voices that we can gather. It’s quite easy to be a skeptic, especially nowadays; it is much harder to be courageous and actually be committed to being the change you’d want to see in the world. Starting with design.”
and
It is about telling the world that “Hey, this is what I can do with my hands, and brain. Show me how we can change some things with them.” For the better. It’s not that UX is perfect. It’s that, UX is perfect for me. In choosing it, I choose, with great pleasure, the responsibility to be a problem solver, user advocate, and principle-builder at any given time. I can’t think of a better use of my life than be of complete service to this incredibly satisfying and rewarding field.”
I meant every word. In case you’re curious, the script and the video recording of the event will be published soon. Please watch out for them here: https://vimeo.com/user47291241
Private writings on UX:
Would you be interested in reading rough drafts of documentations, writings, essays on the topics of product design, user experience, design and technology? I’d love your feedback. They always make my work better. Email me at: nikkiespartinez@gmail.com
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Thank you for reading,
Nikki Espartinez