Innoveering Nebraska

The biggest evidence I’ve seen for this view so far is fonts.  Fifteen years ago very few of us could have named three fonts.  Now nearly all of us not only know the names of several fonts, but we have a favorite font and we have definite good or bad opinions about other fonts.  When exactly did this change occur?  How did it happen?  Did you even realize you were so opinionated about fonts until you read this?  Have you ever argued with someone over what font to use?

The new importance of fonts snuck up on us.  What do you suppose is sneaking up on us now?  How might your business or your life improve if you could look around you and catch a glimmer of what the next big design factor might be? 

How might you change the world if you explored this area and applied your own unique perspective to unleash something new?  Your something new doesn’t have to be a water bottle or furniture.  It might be a business model, it might be a new system for tracking something, it might be using nontraditional colors in a traditional setting. (My mother just beautifully hand stitched a quilt with bright, cheerful, totally non-conventional but gorgeous bright red thread.) 

Whatever it is, only you can do it.  Only you can present it to the world.  My mother doesn’t want to sell quilts to people but you’d want to buy one from her if you saw her creation.  Keep your eyes open, think about what you see, don’t be afraid to experiment, find what you love and share it with the world.  Design isn’t just for designers anymore.

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• Keep track of what you like and what you don’t like. Take a little time when something strikes you and try to figure out what it is about it that causes you to like or dislike it.
• If you’re not able to figure out what elements of things cause you to like them or dislike them, collect and group examples of your likes and dislikes. When you have enough (at least 10 and preferably 20), look at either your group of likes or dislikes and identify the commonalities between most of the examples. Ask a trusted friend for help if you can‘t see the themes.
• Pretend that you’re not yourself and imagine what a grumpy old grandpa, a precocious child, a busy mom or someone else would think of whatever it is you’re looking at.
• If pretending is too tough, start asking the opinion of people around you. Ask “what do you think of this whatever it is you’re looking at – car, table, statue, window covering, etc. You’ll be shocked by how much everyone likes to share their opinions. Listen to how they express themselves. Determine whether you agree.
• Accept that you’re going to make some mistakes and encounter some embarrassment. Resolve that what you learn and gain from these “failed” experiments will be worth the price. Remind yourself of this every time you start to waiver.
• If you can’t accept that you’re going to make mistakes, daydream about what the worst possible outcomes could be and rationally consider whether whatever that may be is worth not bringing into the world the ideas that only you and your unique experiences can create. I sometimes like to exaggerate these worst possible outcomes just to give myself a laugh.
• If you’re still too fearful to act, consider feeling guilty for not stepping up to share what you could with the world. This is a harsh step, but you might need to take it.

It’s not much of a list, but it’s what I have for now.  Hopefully I’ll continue to learn and have something more to share soon.  In the meantime, please let me know if the more artistic and design oriented of you out there have any advice for the rest of us.

Below is Kermit’s impression of Yoda.

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