Tag Archives: creativity

The one characteristic that separates designers from others is action

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“Designers are an odd lot: creative, moody, pensive, thoughtful, weird. But the one characteristic that separates designers from others is action. They make stuff that didn’t exist before. They take the idea living deep inside their head and pull it out, realizing it in a drawing, prototype, or product. Unlike most people, they don’t just think about it. They don’t just brainstorm. They don’t just imagine something better and then talk themselves out of it. Instead, they act.” – Joshua Porter

Read more in Joshua’s 52 Weeks of UX article “Dreamers of Day.”

Filed Under: Joshua Porter

Good designers are open minded and comfortable with ambiguity

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“As the old saying goes, in the expert’s mind there are few possibilities, but for one with the beginner’s mind, the world is wide open. Designers understand the need to take risks, especially during early explorations of the problem. They are not afraid to break with convention. Good designers are open minded and comfortable with ambiguity early on in the process, this is how discoveries are made.” - Garr Reynolds

“As the old saying goes, in the expert’s mind there are few possibilities, but for one with the beginner’s mind, the world is wide open. Designers understand the need to take risks, especially during early explorations of the problem. They are not afraid to break with convention. Good designers are open minded and comfortable with ambiguity early on in the process, this is how discoveries are made.” – Garr Reynolds

This quote is from Garr’s article “10 tips on how to think like a designer.”

Filed Under: Garr Reynolds

Functional objects should also be beautiful and delightful

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“Why shouldn’t our functional objects–our everyday kitchen gadgets and social websites–also be beautiful and delightful in playful, unexpected, inventive and illuminating ways?” - Matt Webb

“Why shouldn’t our functional objects–our everyday kitchen gadgets and social websites–also be beautiful and delightful in playful, unexpected, inventive and illuminating ways?” – Matt Webb

This quote is from Matt’s talking points in his presentation “Scope.”

This quote was submitted by an inspireUX reader. Do you have a quote you want to see on inspireUX? Or an interesting article/presentation that has great quotes in it? Submit it, and it may be chosen!

Filed Under: Matt Webb

Coming up with an idea is really just the beginning

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“Coming up with an idea is really just the beginning. It’s the crafting of the idea into a real, working thing that is a truly exciting experience. Making an idea come alive, into something that makes sense, is then made and put into the market, and then connects with people in a meaningful way—that’s the hard part.” - Ted Booth

“Coming up with an idea is really just the beginning. It’s the crafting of the idea into a real, working thing that is a truly exciting experience. Making an idea come alive, into something that makes sense, is then made and put into the market, and then connects with people in a meaningful way—that’s the hard part.” – Ted Booth

Read Kicker Studio’s interview with Ted where, among other things, Ted discusses in more depth what excites him about being a designer and why he keeps doing it.

Filed Under: Ted Booth

Designers are trained to be courageous about the future—and making the future happen

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“Designers are optimistic people who are trained to be courageous about the future—and making the future happen. They aren’t always aware of the intricacies of operations and the impacts of the solutions they propose, just like entrepreneurs, but they aren’t afraid of confronting a blank piece of paper (or screen or board) and getting to work making something new.” - Nathan Shedroff

“Designers are optimistic people who are trained to be courageous about the future—and making the future happen. They aren’t always aware of the intricacies of operations and the impacts of the solutions they propose, just like entrepreneurs, but they aren’t afraid of confronting a blank piece of paper (or screen or board) and getting to work making something new.” – Nathan Shedroff

This quote is from Kate Rutter’s 2008 interview with Nathan on the subject of the role of design in business.

Filed Under: Nathan Shedroff

Focus on the nuances and details of the design craft itself

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Catriona Cornett • 0 Comments

“Accept—quietly and implicitly—that your work will affect millions. Focus on the nuances and details of the craft itself, and on your capacity to engage in a conversation with your work. Through this will come humble and beautiful design solutions that will live on, affect culture, and change behavior. And through this will come a sense of subdued pleasure in your creative work.” - Jon Kolko

“Accept—quietly and implicitly—that your work will affect millions. Focus on the nuances and details of the craft itself, and on your capacity to engage in a conversation with your work. Through this will come humble and beautiful design solutions that will live on, affect culture, and change behavior. And through this will come a sense of subdued pleasure in your creative work.” – Jon Kolko

Read more from Jon in his interactions magazine article “On Hopelessness and Hope.” In this article Jon argues that successful design may come from those who focus more on designing for deep impact, rather than on broad high level strategic solutions.

Filed Under: Jon Kolko