And what kind of world are we designing?

This is not a blog entry about the London bombings per se. It is a rant about disruption, disassociation, confusion and the re-imagining of where designers fit in with things as they stand in the post 9/11, Madrid, London scenario…

I’ve been a generalist designer for about 25 years now. I have developed work in a wide diversity of locations and contexts. These days despite being busier than ever before, arguably more successful than ever before [at least in terms of income, status, responsibility, autonomy etc], I feel a sense of ennui, of dislocation from my path as a professional, a loss of direction and this is of great concern to me…

Tom Peters introduces his book “Re-imagine” with a chapter about business in a disruptive age, ranting, graphically writing “was” vs “is” scenarios, sound-bites, making challenging statements like, “If you don’t like change, your going to like irrelevance even less.” I find myself going back to this stuff and the book as a whole every few days or so. So, ok - it’s a good book, I’ve said as much elsewhere.

I was just offered a job in China, before that one in India…After careful consideration both positions aren’t quite the right fit. Don’t get me wrong – I want to be in China particularly. I have this fascination with it. I’m sure it shows through here. Just not the right fit…I’ve got a newborn son, and a beautiful partner – the most important thing in my life is my family. It’s not the risk factor – just not the right location actually [Guangzhou - not Shanghai or Beijing]. Risk is cool, but it needs to be the right risk.



Back to Tom. One of the slides in his downloadable presentations says “China should be on your mind”…Well Tom – it most definitely is. I can’t wait to return. But it has to be right for my family. Ever tried to live in a culture/community where you are just so busy working that you cannot get it together to learn the language other than to speak the basics so you can get around, buy stuff and look foolish? It’s an amazing experience but tiring. What am I trying to say here?

I’ve been fortunate to have worked long enough at my craft so as to straddle the digital divide. In this sense I mean I remember the role of designer prior to the Mac, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash etc. – and I have been able to come to terms easily with the evolution and to embrace the whole digital workflow environment of the digital desktop studio. Hell, I even actually love computer technology. I don’t think it answers all my problems but it certainly helps in widening the scope of what is possible. This blog and my other sites are a simple, personal testaments to that. I and countless others have the ability to publish to a global audience - it's passe to assert that these days.

What I’m getting around to expressing can be summed up in one question – a question both personal and more broad in it’s application. That question is, "Where to from here?"

Did you notice how Tony Blair referred to the “design” of the terror attack on London? It’s true it was most definitely a “designed’ event. A template used perhaps in Madrid as well. Digital technology may have played it’s part in triggering the bombs themselves via the ubiquitous mobile phone – a true design icon for the contemporary era if ever there was one.

Elsewhere, there are debates emerging about the power the individual has now to participate in the documentation of “history” itself. Citing the examples of mobile phone video and images documenting the “on the ground” experience of the tragedy…

I don’t think I am alone in contemplating this paralysis at this juncture...how do we find the right "fit"?...And what kind of world are we designing?