This post has moved.
It now lives on the Constructivist blog:
read the updated version →
Eiffel Over is now my stage for engineering-related clowning, singing, dancing and writing — you’ll find my professional writing on design and regenerative thinking over at Constructivist.
Yesterday I said designers are outsiders. Here’s the tricky part: we are also insiders.
That’s because we need to earn the right to work with the people we are designing with and for.
Being an insider means we are trusted and that we are in an empathetic relationship with the people we are seeking to influence.
Just as being an outsider takes work, so does the trust and empathy building process of being an insider. But if we can’t convince people to move with us, our ideas may be good for nothing.