Conversation over noodles sauteed in black bean sauce and some shiraz in a food court.
L: I’ve seen people follow processes so blindly that they can’t come up with an idea. You can’t get great ideas from a process strictly followed.
AP: Process should be treated more like a tool that you use to carve something. Is process about coming up with an idea?
L: umm. I wouldn’t know. I never follow a design process. All I do is diverge, which lets me analyze/ introspect and then ideate from silly to refreshing. I jot down as many ideas as I can. I keep thinking about the brief. I do most of this within my head.
MS: Where did you pick that up from by the way?
L: This book by Brenda Laurel. That was back in design school. She lists some really nice processes. When I came across one particular process I said aloud ‘ Hey what I do has a name!’I think what I described was my takeaway from it.
AP: Isn’t that a process in itself?
L: [Laughs with sudden realization]I agree. But it still opposes alot of traditional methodologies. User interviews for instance. I aint saying that its bad for design. Understanding their perspective is important. But I am not going to rely on their opinions completely. I am going to rely on the fact that I care for them, which I do. You know like a mother-child relationship. A good mom can be defined as one who wouldn’t give everything her child wanted, but will make sure that the child receives the best of everything.
MS: Alot of designers forget to imbibe the process in them to find their own variations. They tend to lean on the process so much that they get stuck along the way.
L: Agreed if there was a recipie for solving problems the world wouldn’t be this way!
AP: Its always easier to talk to non-design oriented members in the team when you use words from the design process dictionary. It makes them feel at ease. You can’t tell people that your going to sit all day and think!
L: Yes thats why I started this conversation. I did try telling a client once about how I work and I think they understood. I didn’t even use jargons. I told them we’ll ‘Go nowhere’ at first, analyze and then we’ll ‘Go somewhere’ in a bit. It was great to be understood. But I worry if I’ll have more support on this in the future.
MS: Your process you mean? [winks]
L: [Makes a mental note and takes a swig] Aah. Process makes me think of an assembly line. It immediately puts me in a cardboard box ready for distribution. I need a new word to describe it.
